China hails post-Wuhan progress in India ties: Let Phoenix & Peacock dance

Call it the Bollywood bounce for India-China relations. At the National Day celebrations at the Chinese embassy in Delhi, Chinese girls dressed in colourful Rajasthani period costumes danced to the rocking rhythms of the blockbuster “Ghoomar” song, symbolising the new spirit of post-Wuhan consensus in India-China relations.

China’s ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui struck an upbeat note on the future trajectory of India-China relations. “Now both sides have been working hard to translate the Wuhan consensus into reality,” said the Chinese envoy at a glittering function on September 28 that was attended by over 700 diplomats, businessmen, prominent public figures and journalists.

“Let the Phoenix and the Peacock fly together, dance together, and make the world better,” said the Chinese envoy, who has completed two eventful years in India.

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh attended the national day reception as Chief Guest.

“Wuhan opened a new chapter”

In many ways, 2018 is a unique year in India-China relations, with the first-ever informal summit meeting between the leaders of India and China in the Chinese city of Wuhan and two other meetings on the side-lines of multilateral summits. The Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping imparted a new direction and momentum to bilateral relations, which suffered during the Doklam stand-off last year. The two leaders are going to hold their fourth meeting this year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires (November 30-December 1).

Focus on P2P

With diplomatic ties acquiring a renewed momentum, the two Asian powers are now poised to hold the inaugural meeting of the People-to-People(P2P) mechanism in December, which will be co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Putting the focus on P2P ties, the Chinese envoy recalled his recent visit to a hospital in Amritsar which promotes the Chinese medical practice of acupuncture.

“Since this year, we have seen significant progress of China-India relations. On my way to the Golden Temple in Amritsar last month, I visited Dr. Kotnis Memorial Acupuncture Hospital,” he said.

“I was deeply impressed that in such a remote area, a hospital is named after Dr. Kotnis, a great Indian hero who sacrificed his life in China during the Second World War. This hospital has also been promoting acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medical treatment method in India for decades. It really shows the profound basis of our friendship among the peoples.”

“Such kind of stories are important elements that lead up to Wuhan Summit last April, which opens a new chapter for our relations,” said the Chinese envoy.

China’s economic journey

The Chinese envoy, who was speaking at an event held to mark PRC’s 69th National Day at the country’s embassy, also underlined China’s commitment to an open economy and transformation of China into the world’s second largest economy.

“Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China has made tremendous progress in economic and social development,” he said.

“Another important experience is that we keep our door open to the world. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, which started in 1978.”

“China is the second largest economy with total GDP of 13 trillion US dollar and per-capita GDP of 8,800 US dollar last year. We have lifted over 700 million people out of poverty over the past 40 years.”

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