Willing to work with India for ‘common interests’ in the Global South and BRICS: China & more related news here

China is willing to work with India to uphold “common interests” in the Global South and the BRICS group, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Thursday (March 26, 2026). Following a meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s outgoing ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said both sides see each other as “development opportunities.”

Beijing’s comments echoed those of Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong, who on the same day called for greater cooperation between the two sides and said there are “some” stakeholders who do not favor a positive relationship between India and China.

After the meeting between Mr. Wang and Mr. Rawat, Mr. Lin said: “China is willing to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, continue to regard each other as threats, treat each other as partners rather than rivals, expand mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, safeguard the common interests of the Global South, strengthen multilateral collaboration in mechanisms such as BRICS….” India is the current president of the BRICS and the next BRICS summit is scheduled to be held in India.

Cultural cooperation

In Delhi, the Chinese ambassador reflected similar positive sentiments, saying yoga, aromatherapy and Indian cuisine were gaining popularity in China and calling for greater cultural cooperation. “China and India are neighbors that cannot be separated. It should be the right choice for both sides to be good friends and partners who help each other succeed and perform the ‘Dragon-Elephant Tango’. However, some people are unwilling to see China and India live in harmony,” said Ambassador Xu Feihong, arguing that some antithetical forces “hope to profit from the discord between our two countries.” The Chinese envoy’s remarks coincided with multiple initiatives both sides are taking to normalize ties, including the restart of civil aviation links that were disrupted following the Galwan clashes in June 2020.

In a speech titled “Uniting hearts through youth: China and India towards a shared future”, the envoy said India and China should “encourage objective and rational views towards each other”.

“We welcome more Indian youth to visit China, see it with their own eyes, experience the vitality of Chinese modernization, share stories of China-India friendship and help build a more objective and rational understanding between our people,” Mr. Xu said, adding that India and China should deepen exchanges and support each other on platforms such as BRICS and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) as the world faces “turbulence, unilateralism and protectionism.”

Coinciding with the positive sentiment expressed by Chinese diplomats, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is making changes at the level of transfers and destinations that will be relevant to India-China relations in the coming years. The current Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, will be the next ambassador to China and Rudrendra Tandon, former Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, has been appointed Secretary (East) of the MEA.