Rajnath cites China mouthpiece to assert Beijing’s changing perspective on India

Citing a recent article in the Global Times, considered a mouthpiece for China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday underscored that Beijing now acknowledges India’s emergence as a key global economic player and a strategic power, attributing it to the nation’s robust economic and foreign policies.
Addressing a community reception at the India House in London, Singh pointed out that a Global Times columnist published an article titled ‘What I see about Bharat narrative in India,’ indicating a shift in China’s perspective on India.
“This article is a ringing affirmation of the changing Chinese perspective on India. It seems the Chinese government has come to accept that our economic and foreign policies, as well as our changing strategic interests, have helped Bharat emerge as a key global economic player and a strategic power,” the defence minister said.
The article, titled ‘Bharat Narrative’, was written by Zhang Jiadong, the Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at Fudan University. Zhang, who based his impressions on two recent visits to India, noted the tremendous changes in India’s domestic and foreign situation over the past four years. He observed that India, in less than a decade, has shifted from multi-balancing to multi-alignment and is rapidly transforming into a pole in the multipolar world.
Zhang said while India has always considered itself a world power, “it has only been less than 10 years since India shifted from multi-balancing to multi-alignment, and now it is rapidly transforming toward a strategy of becoming a pole in the multipolar world.”
“The speed of such changes is rarely seen in the history of international relations,” Zhang added.
It is rare for Chinese scholars to praise India about which most of them often take a bitterly critical view considering the strategic rivalry.
Singh attributed this shift partly to the courage displayed by Indian soldiers during the standoff with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. He asserted that India is no longer perceived as a weak country but has ascended to the status of a rising global power.
“Ab aisa nahi hai ki Bharat ko aankh dikha ke jo chahe so nikal jaye (No longer can anyone show us a red eye and get away with it),” Singh declared.
Acknowledging the strained relationship between India and China, Singh said, “We don’t see anyone as our enemy but the world is aware that the relationship between India and China is currently under strain. However, we wish to cultivate good ties with all our neighbours and countries across the globe.”