Jaswant Singh/Project-Syndicate.
Xi’s
early focus on Sino-Indian relations is unusual for a Chinese leader.
He enunciated a five-point platform, rather like Jawaharlal Nehru’s
“five principles of peaceful coexistence,” implemented in the two
countries’ Panchsheel Treaty of 1954.
According
to Xi’s platform, pending a final settlement of territorial issues, the
two countries should cooperate to maintain peace and tranquility and
prevent border disputes from affecting the overall relationship. China
and India should maintain close strategic communications in order to
keep bilateral relations on the “right track.”
Moreover, the two
countries should harness each other’s comparative strengths and expand
mutually beneficial cooperation in infrastructure, investment, and other
areas; strengthen cultural ties to advance an expanding friendship; and
enhance their cooperation in multilateral forums to safeguard the
legitimate rights and interests of developing countries in tackling
global challenges. Finally, they should accommodate each other’s core
concerns.
