Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday invited India to attend a summit of the APEC trade group in November, sending a message of cooperation during the first meeting between the new leaders of the world’s most populous countries.
Yet behind the smiles at Xi’s 80-minute meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brazil, India’s rivalry with its powerful neighbor bubbled up as the two nations argued over who would host the headquarters of a proposed BRICS joint development bank.
Xi and Modi met soon after their arrival in Brazil for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging powers, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Xi said the two countries should join hands in setting global rules and suggested he attend the November meeting of the 21-nation APEC in Beijing, as well as take part in Chinese-led regional initiatives.
Photo: EPA
India has never attended an APEC summit and has long sought to become a member to help boost its economy.
The bonhomie was partially overshadowed by news that the BRICS groups had not yet decided on where to locate the headquarters of the development bank they were expected to launch yesterday. The frontrunners to host the bank have been China and India.
“It will be every country’s desire, and so will it be India’s, to have it in India, because Delhi or any city in India has its natural advantages, English-speaking, very skilled manpower and if you look at the geographical position of all the BRICS countries, the five of them, India is very centrally located,” Indian Minister of Trade Nirmala Sitharaman told TV network Times Now.
Leaders of the five countries were expected to a sign a deal yesterday to establish a US$100 billion bank and a reserves fund of the same size to challenge Western dominance over development lending.
Xi also called for speedy negotiations to settle disputes over the 4,000km Himalayan border over which India and China went to war in 1962 and which have flared in recent years over allegations of cross-border incursions.
“Xi suggested the two sides manage, control and handle differences with a positive and forward-looking attitude and find fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solutions to their border issues at an early date,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
China claims more than 90,000km2 in the east of the Himalayas. India says China occupies 38,000km2 of its territory on the Aksai Chin Plateau in the west.
Modi called for strengthening “mutual trust” and maintaining peace on the border, the government said in a statement.
Ahead of yesterday’s summit, Xi said that China will dedicate itself to “perfecting” the role developing countries play in international affairs to give them better representation and a greater say.
In an interview with South American media released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi said China would try to better play the role of a responsible major power and promote the rights of the developing world.
Yet China faces deep suspicion about its motives, not least from India, and there have also been concerns in the group that China could hijack the new bank to serve its own interests.
Xi seemed to dismiss these fears, saying China did not believe it was destined to dominate others just because of its growing strength.
“The Chinese people love peace. In the blood of the Chinese people there are no genes for invading others or dominating the world. China does not acknowledge the old logic of ‘when a country is strong it must dominate,’” Xi said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was