Indian expert encourages more cooperation

An Indian expert said the cooperation between Beijing and New Delhi will benefit Asia and the world.

Srikanth Kondapalli, Chairman of Centre for East Asian Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said as Chinese and Indian civilizations are among the oldest and richest civilizations in the world, they should expand their age-old connections and explore more ways of cooperation to strengthen their ties.

Kondapalli made the remarks in a recent interview with China Daily during the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations held last week in Beijing.

Kondapalli delivered a speech on Asian governance experience at a panel session of the conference on Wednesday.

"Various civilizations are not destined to clash," Kondapalli said, adding that "no culture should feel superior, as we are all in the globalization process. There's the scope of learning from each other".

The relationship between India and China sets an example of how different civilizations should coexist and communicate in peace and friendship, he said.

He noted agreements signed between foreign ministers of the two countries last year that will expand cultural cooperation in areas such as movie production, boosting tourism and other areas. In order to attract Chinese tourists, India also launched the e-visa, loosening the visa system to benefit Chinese tourists.

"On some sensitive issues, the two governments, through continuous dialogue and cooperation, also reached a solution that compounded the interests of both sides," he said.

Kondapalli said China-India relations are moving forward, with mutual political trust deepening, practical cooperation accelerating, people-to-people and cultural exchanges flourishing, and bilateral coordination in international and regional affairs sustaining.

Under the theme of "exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations and a community with a shared future", the conference gathered more than 2,000 government officials and representatives of various circles from 47 Asian countries and other countries outside the region.

It is an attempt to understand each other's civilizations and derive benefits from each other through such dialogues, Kondapalli said.

Kondapalli said Asia has witnessed many ancient civilizations appear and thrive over the past millennia. "Today, the continent still proudly maintains its distinct diversity and nurtures all civilizations, ethnic groups, and religions within a big Asian family. As the two largest countries in Asia, China and India are widely expected to continue to respect and trust each other, increase exchanges, and jointly maintain peace."

Kondapalli said it is good to see that China is taking the lead in holding such a conference, adding "such exchanges are the need of the hour to draw mutual benefits keeping our age-old civilizational ties stronger."