Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said Beijing hopes New Delhi will provide a “more fair and friendly” business environment for its companies, PTI reported on Tuesday. “China encourages Chinese companies to invest in India and hopes that India will provide a more fair, friendly and convenient business environment for Chinese companies to operate in India,” Sun said.

Sun’s remarks came days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Mamallapuram near Chennai for an informal summit. Xi is scheduled to arrive in Chennai on October 13 for a 24-hour visit.

The envoy added that over a thousand Chinese companies have invested over $8 billion (Rs 56,945 crore) in India and created 200,000 local jobs.

Sun also said that India and China should resolve their regional disputes peacefully through dialogue. “At the regional level, we should resolve disputes peacefully through dialogues and consultations and jointly uphold regional peace and stability,” he said.

“We should go beyond the model of differences management, actively shape bilateral relations and accumulate positive energy,” Sun said. “We should enhance exchanges and cooperation, promote convergence of interests and achieve common development.”

Ties between India and China have been under strain after New Delhi abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5. China criticised India’s decision and its Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly last month.

Asked about the India-China boundary question, Sun said the key is to find a solution through dialogue and consultation. “Over the past decades, no single bullet has been fired at the China-India border area, and peace and tranquility has been maintained,” Sun said. “Boundary question is only part of China-India relations.” He said New Delhi and Beijing should not let the boundary question affect their bilateral relations.

Modi and Xi had met at an informal summit in Wuhan, China in April 2018, a year after a 74-day long face-off between the two armies in Doklam tri-junction in Sikkim sector.

Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.