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‘Chindia, China Gurus’: Jaishankar takes jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh in Rajya Sabha
Jaishankar said that some people claim he doesn’t understand China, but pointed out that he spent 41 years in the foreign service.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday took a swipe at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh in the Rajya Sabha, referring to them as self-styled “China Gurus”.
“Today, sir, people are offering great wisdom on China. In fact, some people have said I am not well-versed on China,” Jaishankar said, responding to Opposition criticism. Follow Parliament live updates
“Sir, I only spent 41 years in the foreign service and have only been the longest-serving ambassador to China. But there are China Gurus now. One, sir, is an honourable member sitting across from me, whose affection for China is so great that he coined the term Chindia,” he added, drawing laughter from the Treasury benches.
Jaishankar’s remarks were a veiled jibe at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who coined the term “Chindia” in the early 2000s to promote the idea of India and China working together.
In a 2014 interview with China’s state-run Global Times, Ramesh had said, “Ten years ago, when I proposed the concept of Chindia, the whole idea was that India and China could cooperate and work together to face challenges ahead.”
“Chindia is not an outdated vision; it is actually what the governments of both countries are carrying forward,” Ramesh had said at the time, adding that India and China should not become “victims to those people who see them as natural rivals.”
Jaishankar also indirectly referred to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s earlier remarks. Gandhi has repeatedly made critical comments about the Modi government’s handling of the border standoff with China. At an event in London in 2023, he had said the foreign minister’s understanding of China was “superficial.”
“I had an interaction with the foreign minister… He just doesn’t understand it,” Gandhi had said then, drawing sharp reactions from the BJP.
“The ‘China Guru’ says China and Pakistan have grown very close, and that’s absolutely true. But why did they come closer? Because we left the land of PoK between them,” Jairam Ramesh said in a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi.
