On relations with China, PM Modi says won’t let differences become disputes

Answering a question on China being hostile and whether more needed to be done with the neighbours, he stressed that though “India and China have a border dispute, the two countries also have a political relationship, we respect each other”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India will not allow its differences with China to turn into disputes.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Qingdao, China, June 9, 2018. (Reuters file photo)

Saying that each country has its own independent strategy, PM Modi said in an exclusive interview to Hindustan, a sister publication of Hindustan Times, that India’s foreign policy is in the best interests of India.

Answering a question on China being hostile and whether more needed to be done with the neighbours, he stressed that though “India and China have a border dispute, the two countries also have a political relationship, we respect each other”.

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“As far as bilateral relations between India and China are concerned, we have mutual understanding as well as differences. There are differences, there is acceptability also. But we will not allow differences to become disputes,” he said.

He said that whenever there is a problem at the higher level (in the relationship between the two countries), the solution is also worked out.

“Therefore, multilateral issues should not spoil the bilateral relationships,” he said.