New Delhi: “China and India are neighbours that cannot be moved apart. It is the right choice for both sides to be good neighbourly friends and partners that help each other succeed and realise the dragon-elephant tangle,’ Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong said Thursday.
He was speaking in the Capital at the 4th China-India Youth Dialogue, a one-day diplomatic initiative aimed at strengthening bilateral relations through youth engagement. It was co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy and the Confederation of Young Leaders of India.
He added: “Some people deliberately amplify our differences, hype up the so-called China threat, and hope to profit from this discord between our two countries. As important members of the Global South, China and India should strengthen communication and coordination, jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and lead the Global South towards greater development.”
“We should carry forward the eastern wisdom of peaceful coexistence and mutual learning and prevent the world from reverting to the law of the jungle”, he also said.
India and China saw a significant improvement in their bilateral relations in 2025, marking a gradual easing of tensions that had persisted for several years. This shift began with a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit in Russia.
This was followed by the special representatives’ talks in December 2024—the first such dialogue since 2019.
India and China, in 2024, also entered an agreement on the “agreed perceived Line of Actual Control”, including in Depsang and Demchok.
In 2025, a report in The Economist said China had reduced its troops by half along Ladakh and a fragile calm now prevails, with patrols resumed across the LAC, commanders of both sides speaking regularly, and even soldiers exchanging “waves”.
Ambassador Feihong too made a mention of this and added: “Since the meetings between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan and Tianjin, China-India relations have moved to a new level of improvement with positive progress in exchanges and cooperation across various fields.”
He then added: “In recent decades, both China and India have achieved remarkable development. These achievements are built on the hard work and wisdom of our own people, supported by global cooperation… Today, both our countries are at a critical stage of development and national rejuvenation. We should achieve development through our own efforts while actively pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation and supporting each other’s success.”
He concluded by adding that Chinese and Indian youth should deepen exchanges and cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, digital economy and green technology.
“In the face of a complex and changing landscape, young people should think independently and step out of the information cocoon”, he said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: What ambassador Xu Feihong expects from youth in China and India