The India-China relationship is of enormous strategic value, one that cannot be replaced by other bilateral ties, a leading English daily of China said ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India Wednesday.
"Friendly Sino-Indian cooperation is of enormous strategic value for India and such a relationship can in no way be replaced by its bilateral ties with any other country," the Global Times, known for its sharp views on India, said in an editorial headlined "Sino-Indian cooperation invaluable".
"The geopolitical significance of the benign development of Beijing-New Delhi ties can't be duplicated," said the newspaper, which is published by the iconic People's Daily group and largely read by foreigners and expatriates.
Pointing out that the first stop in Xi's India visit is in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, it said: "This is viewed as a starting point for the two state leaders to develop a personal friendship."
According to the daily, the friendship between the "two big neighbours will constitute a fundamental condition for other diplomatic endeavours, especially true for India today".
"The better China-India relations develop, the more advantages and initiatives India can have when dealing with the US and Japan," the editorial stated.
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"China has been regarded as their biggest rival by the US and Japan, who instinctively try to rope in China's neighbors to their cause. A positive New Delhi-Beijing engagement would force Washington and Tokyo to cozy up to India."
It said that Japan and India have nearly the same influence on the "global strategic chessboard".
"In contrast to Japan's openly hostile policy toward China, India follows a cooperative principle with China. Therefore, Japan has to seek the favour of India, not the other way around," it said.
According to the daily, China has a long-term strategy to develop friendly relations with India, instead of seeking short-term gain.
"For us, the Sino-Indian relationship, with its own strategic merits, doesn't have to be associated with ties with other major powers. Rationality and vision dictate the development of bilateral ties," the editorial stated.
"Both China and India are continent-sized countries but have embarked on different paths and developed different advantages. We need to discover more of the common interests between the two countries which will have a stunning purchasing power upon humanity's future," it concluded.