Chinese envoy praises PM Modi: 'India's economy maintains rapid development, living standards have improved'

In a significant statement, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong on Thursday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his policy of "Reform, Perform and Transform". The Chinese envoy said that under Modi, India's economy maintained rapid development and people's living standards improved continuously. 

"Since 1990s, India has actively promoted economic and social reforms. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Indian government put forward the policy of "Reform, Perform and Transform", and India's economy maintains rapid development and people's living standards improve continuously," Feihong said.   

"I would congratulate on the achievements India has made through reforms," the diplomat said, adding that only China and India can understand how many efforts should be made to promote reform in a country with a population of 1.4 billion. "We are willing to enhance experience-sharing on reforms with the Indian side, synergize our development strategies, learn from each other's strengths, and make progress together."

The bilateral relationship between India and China is going through a difficult phase since the Chinese military's aggression along the border in Eastern Ladakh. India's foreign minister and national security advisor have held talks with their counterparts to resolve the ongoing crisis at the border.

"At present, China-India relations are at a crucial stage of improvement and development. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar twice in the past two months and met with Indian National Security Advisor Mr Ajit Doval a few days ago. They had in-depth communication and reached an important consensus on the improvement of bilateral relations," he said.    

The Chinese diplomat also said that at the conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, President Xi Jinping reiterated that "China's resolve to stay on the path of peaceful development will not change".

"The leaders of China and India reached important consensuses such as "China and India are partners rather than rivals, and are not threats to each other but opportunities for each other's development". They not only point out the direction for the development of bilateral relations but also provide important guidelines for the two countries to promote modernization," he said.