Chinese envoy Zhaohui bats for OBOR, says complementary with India’s Act East policy

Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 16

Days ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping along the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui on Friday batted for the ‘One Belt One Road’ project.

Responding to a question by a delegate at the 1st India-China Youth Dialogue at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, the envoy stressed that the Modi government’s Act East policy is complementary with the ambitious OBOR pet project of Xi.

India objects to OBOR on grounds of violation of sovereignty since its flagship project the China Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) runs through PoK (Pak Occupied Kashmir).

“One Belt One Road is not just China’s national policy but it is accepted by almost one hundred countries. It is going quite well,” said Luo citing consensus arrived upon BCIM (Bangladesh China India and Myanmar) economic corridor in 2013 as a case of multilateral cooperation moving forward.

“China and India have the same policy on connectivity and free trade. Also in AIIB (Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank) India is one of the largest donor countries and largest beneficiaries,” he said.

“Concrete cooperation is very important, laying the terms is very important. But we focus more on concrete cooperation. That is why I think Act East and OBOR is natural. How do you synergise these two strategies together between the two countries, between the two leaders and benefit from cooperation and development,” the ambassador further added.

The ambassador also hoped that the youth on both sides could improve bilateral ties as the two countries lay ground for formal launch of a high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange mechanism — an outcome of the Wuhan informal summit.

“The dialogue will provide a platform for the youth of both nations to build a ‘Great Wall of Trust and Cooperation’ between the two countries,” wrote PM Modi in his congratulatory message sent earlier.

“Three things are most fashionable among Chinese youth in urban areas, namely, watching Bollywood movies, practicing Yoga and tasting Darjeeling tea,” added Luo.