Chinese Embassy in India talks about Panchsheel

Trade between India and China in 2023 reached record levels, surpassing the figures of 2022 despite a slowdown in the middle of the year, according to the Chinese envoy to India. Speaking at a Chinese New Year event in Delhi, Charge D'Affaires Ma Jia stated that the increase in trade to US $136.2 billion was consistent with other areas of "improvement" in bilateral ties, citing an informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in August.

Ms. Ma said this while speaking to guests at a reception held on Tuesday at the Chinese Embassy in Delhi.
"Chinese modernization has progressed significantly in the past year.In 2023, China's GDP grew by 5.2%, demonstrating impressive economic performance. China has contributed more than 30% of global growth for the past ten years. The standard of living in China has risen to new heights.The ecological environment continues to improve. Tourist attractions are crowded with holidaymakers. The Chengdu World University Games and Hangzhou Asian Games were impressive, and India achieved its best-ever performance in the Asian Games."

She stated that China will continue to open up, capitalize on its large domestic market, and create favourable conditions for the global community to benefit from its opportunities. China has been promoting world peace and development for the past year. China has taken on the responsibility to build a community with a shared future in the face of global instability and transformation. China has worked to end hostilities and promote peace talks in Ukraine, de-escalate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, address hotspot issues like Afghanistan and Myanmar, and contribute to global challenges.

The Chinese envoy did not directly refer to the tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where military commanders have held 20 rounds of talks since China amassed troops along the LAC in April 2020, resulting in clashes. Despite the numerous rounds of talks and the informal meeting between the leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa last year, negotiations remain deadlocked in at least two friction points at Demchok and Depsang.

Instead, Ms Ma referred to the 70th anniversary of the India-China Panchsheel agreement this year, describing the five principles of peaceful coexistence as "a basic norm governing international relations."

During a reception held at the Chinese Embassy in Delhi on Tuesday, Ms Ma addressed the guests and announced that bilateral trade volume had reached 136.2 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 1.5%. She further added that India's exports to China had also increased by 6% in the previous year.

Despite the increased engagement, China has not appointed an Ambassador to Delhi in over 16 months, the longest such period thus far, and Ms Ma is set to finish her assignment in Delhi soon. The two countries have not resumed direct flights between them, and the increase in trade comes despite other trade and investment restrictions imposed by India since 2020 in response to the Galwan clashes and the killing of soldiers.

Ms. Ma concluded by saying...“In 2024, the country hopes that the window for communications will get bigger, the platform of practical cooperation will become larger, the bridge for people-to-people exchanges will be rebuilt, and the two peoples can invest in and travel to each other’s country freely and conveniently."

(With inputs from agencies)