NEW DELHI: India on Friday welcomed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson鈥檚 comments that Washington would rather work with New Delhi than Beijing over the next century, saying it shared his optimism about their burgeoning relationship.
Speaking ahead of a visit to India next week, Tillerson called Wednesday for deeper cooperation with India in the face of growing Chinese influence in Asia and said Washington wanted to promote a 鈥渇ree and open鈥� region led by prosperous democracies.
President Donald Trump鈥檚 top diplomat also said Beijing sometimes acted outside international conventions, citing the South China Sea dispute as an example.
India welcomed the comments, saying they 鈥渉ighlighted our shared commitment to a rule-based international order,鈥� the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
鈥淲e appreciate his positive evaluation of the relationship and share his optimism about its future directions.鈥�
Tillerson鈥檚 remarks came hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping鈥檚 speech at the Communist Party congress signalled that Beijing intended to play a greater role in world affairs.
The unexpectedly sharp comments were seen as a warning to Beijing that Washington would build regional alliances to counter China鈥檚 ever-growing power, while promoting free trade and open sea lanes.
Beijing responded Thursday by saying that America was biased.
鈥淲e hope the US side can look at China鈥檚 development and role in the international community in an objective way, and abandon its biased views of China,鈥� Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
Experts say stronger US-India ties could act as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China, which has been building its military and acting increasingly assertively on the world stage.
India has historically avoided alliances, preferring to maintain cautious relations with both Washington and Beijing, but Trump has developed a warm relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tillerson will visit New Delhi next week for talks but the exact dates have yet to be announced.
His visit will also take him to Pakistan, India鈥檚 arch-rival and nuclear-armed neighbor.
India welcomes Tillerson call for deeper ties to counter China
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