"There is no objective reason for discord between us, and neither of us is a threat to the other," said Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a speech delivered at China's elite Peking University Monday afternoon.
The visiting prime minister told over 300 faculty members and students that "simple, but profound, principles should form the bedrock of the future India-China partnership."
He said the strength and complementarity of the partnership is undeniable, and the two sides should expand their mutual trust and understanding, for "the better we understand each other, the more we can do together."
"We are the two most populous countries of the world. We have the two fastest growing economies in the world. Both of us have continent-sized markets, and we also have the problems of continent-sized countries -- unequal development, widespread income disparities, and a potential digital divide."
He added that India's strengths in information technology, software engineering, management and financial services are well-complemented by Chinese expertise in hardware, construction and industry. Moreover, both countries are dedicated to the development of a cooperative, multi-polar world order, and they share common views on many international issues.
"We should be conscious of our complementary strengths, resist contradictory pulls, and deploy our resources in a mutually reinforcing manner. Our trust and understanding should be able to withstand forces which seek to divide us," he said.
He said India and China are two of the world's oldest civilizations with contacts over at least two millennia; however, there have been periods in history when the two civilizations have entered an introspective phase and lost regular contact with one another. "From relative isolation from each other, we went into a state of estrangement."
However, the two "have emerged decisively from this dead-end of mistrust, already a few decades ago. We have vigorously set about recovering our mutual understanding, building a broad base for our cooperation and redeeming the promise of our complementarities."
He said that, in recent years, cooperation has greatly expanded and diversified, with bilateral trade surging and a noteworthy increase in reciprocal investment. Moreover, the India-China dialogue has already transcended bilateral relations to encompass international issues such as terrorism, security, the environment and sustainable development.
"Our coordination and collaboration in various multilateral institutions is expanding into newer and newer areas," he went on.
"I am convinced that, with steadfast adherence to the five principles of peaceful coexistence, with mutual sensitivity to the concerns of each other, and with respect for equality, our two countries can further accelerate this process so that we can put this difference firmly behind us," said the Indian prime minister.
(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2003)
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