An editorial in the official Chinese newspaper India has been praised by Global Times for its proactive approach and strategic confidence over the past four years. An important state-run Chinese newspaper called Global Times has commended India for its proactive “Bharat narrative” development and strategic confidence.
On January 2, the state-run newspaper published an opinion piece by Zhang Jiadong, the director of Fudan University’s Centre for South Asian Studies, highlighting India’s impressive accomplishments over the previous four years. It also recognized India’s progress in urban governance, economic growth, and changing perspective on international relations, particularly with China.
On the one hand, India has made significant progress in terms of economic development and social governance. Its economy has gained traction and is on track to become one of the fastest-growing major economies, wrote Zhang in the article. For example, when discussing the trade imbalance between China and India, Indian representatives used to primarily focus on China’s trade imbalance-reduction measures. However, they are now focusing more on India’s export potential, Zhang added.
In the political and cultural spheres, India has shifted away from emphasizing its democratic consensus with the West and toward emphasizing the ‘Indian feature’ of democratic politics. At the moment, there is even more emphasis on the Indian origins of democratic politics, according to the article. In his article, Jiadong also asserted that the shift reflects India’s desire to move beyond its historical colonial past and serve as a world mentor both politically and culturally.
The article also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s multi-alignment strategy, highlighting how it helped strengthen relations with the US, Japan, and Russia while displaying a nuanced stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power, he has advocated for a multi-alignment strategy, promoting India’s relations with the US, Japan, Russia, and other countries and regional organizations, Zhang said in the article.
India has always regarded itself as a major global force. Though India transitioned from multi-balancing to multi-alignment less than a decade ago, it is now quickly moving toward a strategy of becoming a pole in the multipolar world. Rarely in the annals of international relations has change occurred at such a rapid pace, the speaker said. In the global arena, Zhang recognized India as a major power and said, It appears that a transformed, stronger, and more assertive India has become a new geopolitical factor that many countries need to consider.
Ratnavali