China, India give whole world cause to celebrate Valentine's Day

Aug 28 is Chinese Valentine's Day, also known as Qixi. But this year it will also be remembered as the day that China and India successfully resolved their 70-day long border standoff through diplomatic means.

It was a feeling of relief for many, as both the Chinese and Indian governments announced the end of the standoff on Monday.

Tensions between the world's two most populous nations had escalated after Indian border troops illegally crossed the well-delineated China-India border in the Sikkim Sector into China's Donglang area on June 18.

While the Chinese military has shown strong resolve to defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese government has exercised its utmost restraint by fully exploring diplomatic and peaceful means.

After all, China and India, despite their brief border war in 1962, trace their neighborly relations to ancient times. The ancient Silk Road, for example, served not only as a major trading route between the two countries, but also helped spread Buddhism from India to East Asia.

As the world's two largest developing nations, China and India have every reason to avoid a war or any military conflict and rather focus on their economic and social development and the improvement of their peoples' lives.

Bilateral relations have advanced rapidly in recent years, with China becoming India's largest trade partner and bilateral trade in excess of $70 billion. Bilateral investment has also grown. Yet, that's just the beginning for the two fast-developing nations, which have huge potential for cooperation.

The fact that the Shanghai-headquartered New Development Bank, formed by five BRICS countries, has an Indian as its president is also a reflection of the kind of cooperation the two countries should pursue.

The BRICS Summit, to be held in Xiamen, China, from Sept 3-5 will gather leaders from China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa and provide another huge opportunity for them to pursue win-win cooperation that not only benefits the five countries, but the whole world.

Peace and stability is vital not only for China and India, but also Asia and the whole world. As the two largest developing nations, China and India should play exemplary roles in observing the five principles of peaceful coexistence: mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty; mutual non-aggression; mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs; equality and cooperation for mutual benefit; and peaceful co-existence.

The mistake India made on June 18 should not be repeated. And China and India — and the whole world — should now celebrate as the border standoff was solved peacefully and diplomatically.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily USA. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com