Ahead of Modi-Xi summit, positivity blooms in gloomy Chinese media

Amid the strained ties between the Asian rivals, India and China on Monday announced an informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at central China’s Wuhan city from April 27 to 28.

The meeting, which was announced by the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, brought positivity to the otherwise gloomy Chinese state media.

The dragon has been using its official media to issue indirect threats to the rival nations and to spread its agenda of creating global hegemony, adding a gloomy tinge to it.

During the Doklam standoff, the Chinese government’s mouthpiece The Global Times would carry articles and opinion pieces full of rhetoric against India. Dropping war threats to India were actually the Chinese government’s unofficial stand which it otherwise could not say owing to several obligations.

However, with the announcement of Modi-Xi summit later this week, the otherwise depressing scenario created by the Chinese media found some positivity.

Several articles, hailing the diplomatic wisdom of China and India, encouraged people-to-people engagement to usher a new chapter in the Sino-Indians relations.

“Within China, hostility toward India is being replaced by hopes for friendly ties. The two countries need more communication to enhance mutual trust and eliminate the possibility of another border crisis,” The Global Times, considered the official Chinese media, commented on Tuesday.

The English daily even termed the meeting as significant as the one between former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1988.

The daily further hailed the diplomatic wisdom of India and China and wrote: “Indian leaders attach importance to reciprocity in diplomacy.”

The proposed Modi-Xi meeting also seems to be helping the Chinese to change their radical attitude towards India highlighted in Doklam standoff last year.

Within China, hostility toward India is being replaced by hopes for friendly ties, read another article published by the tabloid.

Both the countries are emerging superpowers on the global front and share common interests in international affairs.

During the informal meeting before the formal summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in June, Modi and Xi are expected to discuss more “practical, urgent and significant” issues.

The meeting would also be significant in the wake of the anti-globalisation trend sparked off by US President Donald Trump to contain increasing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Click Here To Read More Related Articles