Learning each other's languages will help India and China to bridge communication gap and strengthen ties, according to a leading Chinese daily.
An opinion piece in The Global Times Wednesday said that eforts by the world's two most populous countries to learn each other's languages would open up exciting new opportunities for business, travel and cultural enrichment.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart," the article stated quoting this famous saying of Nelson Mandela.
It said that both India and China seem to be endorsing Mandela's quote as they embrace each other's primary languages, Hindi and Chinese.
"Leading Indian corporations are doing business with firms across the border. Indian parents, students and educators believe that fluency in the language of the world's most populous country can be a ticket to success," the opinion piece stated.
"Across Indian academic institutions, there is a new and ostensible thrust to help students master Putonghua (or Mandarin Chinese), the most widely spoken language across China, and by an estimated 873 million people worldwide."
Understanding and appreciating each others' culture will truly shape the thinking of future generations and bring down the great wall of misunderstanding, the opinion piece said.