Chinese envoy moots 'friendship treaty', FTA with India

Seeking closer ties with India, China today suggested a bilateral "Friendship and Cooperation Treaty" along with a Free Trade Agreement to comprehensively boost relations between the two Asian giants who are locked in a long-standing border dispute.
Luo Zhaohui, China's Ambassador to India, while mooting the "Friendship and Cooperation Treaty" and FTA proposals, termed differences between New Delhi and Beijing over certain issues as matters "within a family", and sounded optimistic about the future of bilateral ties.
Describing the twin proposals as "ambitious", Luo said the time is ripe for the two countries to reap some "early harvest" benefits in resolving their decades-old vexed border issue.

The envoy maintained India and China should join hands in the latter's 'One Belt One Road' initiative aimed at building super-modern economic and infrastructural connectivities in South Asia.
India's 'Act East' policy would get a fillip if New Delhi joined the ambitious initiative, the diplomat added.
Luo was speaking at a function organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Mumbai at the newly established Ji Xianlin Centre for India-China Studies at the University of Mumbai in suburban Kalina.

On his first official visit to Mumbai, Ambassador Luo said, "India is my second home. I joined foreign service because of my affection for India."

"Beyond connectivity projects, our two countries should also cooperate to promote cultural exchanges, cooperation in education, and people-to-people contacts under the One Belt One Road framework."
Luo described the current differences between India and China on certain issues as matters "within a family", adding, "Even members of a family have some differences sometimes. I am very optimistic about the future of our relations."
Sudheendra Kulkarni, Chairman, ORF Mumbai, said India- China relations should be guided by their profound civilisational wisdom.
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"By changing the destiny of South Asia, we can change the destiny of Asia and the world in the 21st century," said Kulkarni, who is also a columnist.

"We should be worthy successors of great men from the ancient and recent past such as the Buddha, Kumarajiva, Huen Tsang, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Tan Yunshan, Dr Dwarakanath Kotnis and Ji Xianlin, who built bridges of unity and understanding between India and China," he said.
The centre at the university has been established in honour on Prof Ji Xianlin (1911-2009), an acclaimed Sanskrit scholar and Chinese indologist, who translated the Ramayana into Mandarin.
Sanjay Deshmukh, Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University, announced the centre would be upgraded as the Ji Xianlin School for India-China Studies from the coming academic year.
On this occasion, the ambassador handed over to Sushila Abute, Mayor of Solapur, a carefully-restored version of a rare calligraphic homage, hand-written by modern China's founding father Mao Zedong, to Dr Dwarakanath Kotnis.

Kotnis (1910-42), a doctor from Solapur, western Maharashtra, and an alumnus of Mumbai University, was sent by the Indian National Congress as a member of the Indian medical team to help the Chinese people and soldiers during the Sino- Japanese War of 1938. He died in China.
"A hero of India and a friend of China, our two countries will never forget the humanitarian service and sacrifice of Dr Kotnis," Luo said, paying glowing tributes to the physician.
Yesterday, the Ambassador called on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and suggested expanding "provincial -level cooperation" between the two sides under China's 'One Belt One Road' project.

Luo spoke of strengthening Mumbai-Shanghai Sister City Relationship.
He also visited the office of ORF Mumbai yesterday and complimented the think-tank and Kulkarni for their efforts to promote India-China trust, understanding and cooperation.
India-China cooperation should focus on some mutually beneficial mega-projects for which funding would be available from the recently established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Luo said.