Chinese media's praise for PM Modi's remarks during Lex Fridman podcast: 'Pragmatic approach'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a podcast with Lex Fridman on March 16.

After Narendra Modi emphasised that New Delhi and Beijing should engage in a "healthy and natural" competition while ensuring that differences do not escalate into disputes, a report by Chinese daily Global Times described the Prime Minister’s remarks as a “pragmatic approach”.

Speaking on India-China relations during the podcast with Lex Fridman, PM Modi highlighted the deep historical ties between the two nations. Addressing the 2020 border standoff, PM Modi acknowledged the tensions but noted that his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has led to progress. "After my meeting with President Xi, we have seen a return to normalcy at the border. We are working to restore conditions to how they were before 2020," he said.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that PM Modi’s remarks underscore the Indian government's current pragmatic approach to advancing China-India relations, building on the positive momentum since the Kazan summit of the leaders.

According to Qian, since the meeting in Kazan, China-India relations made positive strides with both sides implementing the important consensus, strengthening exchanges at all levels and practical cooperation, resulting in a series of positive outcomes.

Qian said that after years of standoff, the China-India border issue has returned to a "stable and manageable state". According to Qian, both sides may enter the next phase of negotiations, although the process could be lengthy.

PM Modi said that the relationship between India and China is not something new, noting that both the countries have ancient cultures and civilisations.

"If you look at historical records, for centuries, India and China have learned from each other. Together, they have always contributed to the global good in some way. Old records suggest that at one point, India and China alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of the world's GDP. That's how massive India's contribution was. And I believe our ties have been extremely strong, with deep cultural connections," the Prime Minister told Fridman.