Amid row over visa denial to Indian wushu players, Chinese envoy calls for strengthening bilateral ties

Chinese envoy Zha Liyou has called for strengthening bilateral relations on a healthy and stable track

Kolkata: Amid controversy over China’s decision to deny visas to three Indian wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh for the Asian Games, Chinese envoy Zha Liyou has called for strengthening bilateral relations on a healthy and stable track.

Currently, relations between the two countries are “generally stable, and the leaders of the two countries maintain dialogue and communication”, said Liyou, Chinese consul general in Kolkata.

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“China is willing to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen dialogue and communication, overcome interference difficulties, and promote the development of bilateral relations on a healthy and stable track,” Liyou said on Sunday, while addressing a programme to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

He also said the neighbouring country is willing to work with all parties, including India, to serve as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order with a broader vision.

“A stable and healthy China-India relationship is in the fundamental interests of both countries and their people. The common development and revitalisation of the two countries is related to the future of Asia and the world,” the Chinese envoy said.

Asked about the denial of visas to three Arunachal Pradesh athletes, Liyou said, “The Asian Games is the game for all of us. We are family… this is a bilateral issue and I would invite you to reach out to the Chinese Embassy…”

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday decided to cancel his visit to Hangzhou for the Asian Games as a mark of protest against China’s decision to deny visas to three female players from Arunachal Pradesh.

Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu have been denied accreditation, which also works as visa for the Asian Games that officially opened on Saturday in Hangzhou.

Since last year, as the pandemic prevention and control measures have been gradually relaxed, more and more Indians who have never been to China expressed their desire to visit the country, he said.

“My office opened visa earlier this year and (since then), close to 7,000 people from Kolkata alone have been travelling to China,” Liyou said.

He emphasised local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between eastern Indian states and Chinese provinces to promote development of relations between the two countries.

“India and China share the commonality of long history. Both of us have ancient civilisation. We have experienced things- hardships and suffering- that no other major civilisations have done. We have to work hard to bring ideas and people together,” Liyou said on the sidelines of the programme.

This year, India holds the chairmanship of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the G20. During this period, India successfully held a number of high-profile multilateral meetings and achieved fruitful results, he said.

The SCO, an intergovernmental organisation which mainly focuses on regional security issues, comprises eight Member States – China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Chinese envoy also congratulated India for ISRO’s successful Moon mission.