New Delhi, June 8 (UNI) The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday thanked the Chinese foreign ministry for its somewhat cold congratulatory message on the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and stressed that India will continue to pursue efforts towards normalisation of bilateral ties “based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity”.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in a post on X, said:
“Thank you @MFA_China for congratulating PM @narendramodi on his election victory.
“Will continue to pursue efforts towards normalisation of India-China ties based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.”
He was responding to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s post on X, which said that Beijing looks forward to a “healthy and stable” bilateral relationship.
“Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi, BJP and the National Democratic Alliance on the election victory. We look forward to a healthy & stable China-India relationship.”
Notably Chinese President Xi Jinping hasn’t yet congratulated PM Modi on his re-election.
The exchange between the MEA and the Chinese MOFA comes a day after Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, slammed China for protesting against an exchange of tweets between Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the latter’s election victory.
The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said Beijing’s anger over a cordial exchange on X between the leaders of democracies is unjustified, and that Taiwan is dedicated to building partnerships with India.
“#China’s outrage at a cordial exchange between the leaders of 2 democracies is utterly unjustified. Threats & intimidation never foster friendships. #Taiwan remains dedicated to building partnerships with #India underpinned by mutual benefit & shared values,” it posted.
The response came after China’s foreign ministry said that “there is no such thing as ‘president’ of the Taiwan region” and that Beijing opposes all official interactions between the “Taiwanese authorities” and countries diplomatically aligned with China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that India has made “serious political commitments” to China regarding the “one China principle” on Taiwan and is obligated to “recognize, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations.”
On Wednesday evening, President Lai sent a congratulatory message on X to PM Modi: “My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his election victory. We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing #Taiwan-#India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology & other sectors to contribute to peace & prosperity in the #IndoPacific.”
PM Modi retweeted President Lai’s post on X and thanked him for his “warm message”. He expressed anticipation of closer ties as “we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership.”
