India, China should have mutual trust, respect: Chinese scholar

New Delhi: India and China should have mutual trust and respect rather than disrespect for each other, and come to an agreement on contentious issues which benefits both sides, a Chinese scholar has said.

Shen Dingli, from the Institute of International Studies Fudan University, said that Chinese foreign policy is shaped by three Ms -- namely, money, muscle and mind.

He was speaking on the subject "Chinese Foreign Policy and its Regional Impact" organised by the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) in collaboration with India International Centre here on Thursday evening.

He acknowledged that China is "running out of steam" and is therefore bringing in reforms to boost the Chinese economy. 

Social upliftment is kept in mind while formulating the policies in order to achieve President Xi Jinping`s "Chinese Dream", he said. 

The $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the One Belt One Road initiative are some of these policies which aim for development through clean governance, accountability and transparency, he said. Instead of confining China into a Communist state or a Capitalist state Shen calls it a "preliminary socialist state" due these new development policies.

While addressing the worries between India and China, he quoted President Xi Jinping as saying "Humankind has a common destiny" and noted that there has to be mutual trust and respect rather than disrespect for each other. Mutual understanding of the disputes and cooperation is needed to improve the relations between the two South Asian powers, he said.

The international relations scholar recalled Confucius and suggested that persuasion and tolerance is vital for both the countries to coexist. 

As leaders of South Asia, he believes India and China should come to an agreement which benefits both the countries and builds trust.

 According to him, a fail-safe approach is required to develop this friendship of consulting, constructing and sharing together on which OBOR is based. He opines that `If India cannot win, China cannot win` and therefore, China should openly support India and vice versa. 

Shen asserted that India is "Too moral, naïve and simple, which is the reason why it is often played by the US".

Shen hopes that the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation Summit this month in Beijing will alleviate India`s concerns on boundary issues, terrorism, Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the One Belt One Road Initiative.

The summit will be held from May 14 to 15.