By IANS
Beijing : Though India and China have different views on global and bilateral issues, there is nothing that cannot be sorted out through free and frank dialogue, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said here Saturday.
Harking back on the 1954 Panchsheel principles founded by former Chinese president Zhou Enlai and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress chief said: “Pragmatism and mutual self-interest offer a sound basis for the future development” of the relations between the two countries.
“We may well have different views and different perspectives on both bilateral and global issues. That is only natural. I have no doubt, however, that there is no problem that cannot be sorted out through free and frank dialogue and discussion,” she said addressing a select gathering at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University organised by the international department of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Describing the pace of change in China as “truly astounding and outstanding”, Gandhi said in her 20-minute speech that India has to learn from the way China had approached economic reforms and liberalisation.
Gandhi, along with her MP son Rahul Gandhi, is in China on a five-day visit on the invitation of the CPC. Besides Beijing, she will visit Xi’an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi province, and China’s economic hub Shanghai.
Pointing out that relations between New Delhi and Beijing have already assumed increasing importance to the stability and prosperity of the world at large, she said: “People in India admire the tremendous progress China has made since it began its economic reforms in 1978. You have shown the world that it is possible in a relatively short time to substantially eradicate poverty, to inculcate dynamism and to unleash the forces of social and economic creativity.
“You have successfully transformed China into a dominant force in the global economy,” she said adding: “I was last in China eleven years ago. The pace of change I see is truly astounding”.
Gandhi said both countries have to build their long traditions of peaceful contact and exchange to sustain a catalytic partnership that is relevant for the 21st century. “It is today’s imperative. I firmly believe that we have much to contribute to one another.
“We are not merely catching up with the developed world; in the coming decades, China and India will be the largest and third largest respectively among the global economies,” Gandhi added.
Calling for stronger cultural ties Gandhi said: “The most important part of our mission is to increase the mutual awareness among our youth, awareness of both our shared past and especially of the future to which we aspire. To use today’s language, we should encourage connectivity between our youth.”
The visit of Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit scheduled later this year. She has met President Hu Jintao, who was recently named as head of the ruling party for the second time.