NEW DELHI: China is not a warlike nation, President Xi Jinping said here yesterday. “A warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually perish,” Xi said in a speech, adding that China believed its neighbours were key to its wellbeing.
He said China was committed to the path of peaceful development, addressing concerns in Asia about Beijing’s increasingly assertive territorial claims including in the South China Sea, a vital global trade route.
One irritant for China is the presence in India of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who has lived in the country since fleeing a failed uprising against Chinese rule of his homeland in 1959. A government of exiled Tibetans and tens of thousands of refugees are also based in northern India.
About 20 supporters of a free Tibet, mainly women, protested within a few metres of the building in New Delhi where Modi and Xi met, waving Tibetan flags and shouting: “We want justice.” Police detained them after a few minutes.
Several other small pro-Tibet protests broke out across the city. Modi reiterated India’s position that it will not allow “anti-China” activities from Tibetans in the country.
Speaking in India’s financial centre, Mumbai, the Dalai Lama said Xi should use his visit to learn from the Indian experience of democratic rule, and learn democratic practices. He also linked the border flareups to Tibet, which stretches the length of the Chinese side of the border with India. IANS
