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NEW DELHI. – India’s new nationalist government promised yesterday to pursue a more muscular foreign policy and “engage energetically” with China as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Beijing’s top diplomat.
In a keynote speech before parliament that was written by Modi, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said India wanted peaceful and friendly relations with all countries but would not “shy away” from confrontation when necessary.
He also said that Modi’s newly-elected government was “committed to building a strong, self-reliant and self-confident India” that wanted to take its “rightful place in the comity of nations”.
Modi, whose right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ousted the ruling Congress party last month after a landslide election victory, has long argued that India has been punching below its weight on the world stage and has lost ground to its nuclear-armed rival and neighbour China.
After promising to shore up relations with other South Asian countries which have forged closer ties to Beijing during the last decade of Congress rule, Mukherjee singled out China for mention in his speech.
“My government will engage energetically with other neighbours in our region, including China, with whom we will work to further develop our Strategic and Cooperative Partnership,” he said.
The speech came before Modi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held brief talks in New Delhi, officially billed as a “courtesy call”.
Although there was no immediate word on the outcome of the talks, footage broadcast on Indian television showed the two men smiling and shaking hands.
Wang had met on Sunday his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, talks described by New Delhi as a “productive and substantive” step towards stronger relations between the neighbours, whose ties have long been frosty over a border dispute.
“In our view, this is a productive beginning between the new government of India and the Chinese government,” foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.
Speaking in Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said that the Communist government “welcomes, supports and gives blessings to India’s development”.
“China is ready to develop a closer and more-comprehensive development partnership with India,” Hua Chunying told reporters yesterday.
Modi invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit India later this year, extending an olive branch to one of New Delhi’s traditional rivals.- AFP.
Online Reporter