The key to Sino-India relations lies in “how to expand the strategic consensus between leaders of two countries into one among the two societies and into voluntary actions of two peoples,” Wang Yi, foreign minister and State councilor, said at a press conference on March 8.
At the informal meeting in April 2018 in Wuhan, ccentral China’s Hubei Province last March, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi engaged in in-depth strategic discussion, increased their mutual trust and understanding and turned a healthy, sound page in developing bilateral ties. Government agencies from both countries have followed up with consultations and cooperation in various fields, reaping some fruits, commentator Yao Ling wrote in a piece for the overseas edition of the
People’s Daily. Yao noted that expanding the leaders’ consensus into one among two societies, as Wang Yi said, requires more effort. In non-governmental exchanges, there is often a gap in mutual understanding. If left underdeveloped, people-to-people exchanges can hold back bilateral ties from further improvement, she warned.
The countries have been working to bridge that gap, the commentator wrote. December 2018 saw the launch of the Mechanism on China-India High-level People-to-People Exchange. The pair also has extensive space for cooperation in cultural exchanges and relics protection, educational cooperation and language teaching, and academic exchanges.
Cementing public opinion is crucial to putting bilateral ties on a smooth, long-term track, and China and India should work together towards that end, Yao stressed.
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