'India, China must live as good neighbours'

Shillong, July 5 (IANS) China was once an enemy of India but now relations between the two countries have changed and both are learning to live as good neighbours, T.K.A. Nair, adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said Thursday.

"The ideas which India had about China once are no longer relevant now since a great deal of change has since come on account of changing global economy," Nair said at the inauguration of the newly-launched Post Graduate Executive Programme (PGPEx) on International Business with a special reference to China at the Indian Institute of Management-Shillong.

"We have to learn live as friendly neighbour with China; we have to learn to deal with China, we have to compete with china. They are your neighbours and you have to live with them," Nair said, stressing on the need to improve relations with China.

"We should remember that times have change and we have to learn to live with and take advantage of the changing times."

Nair also reminded the gathering about the prime minister's constant reminders that India cannot choose its neighbours but should instead take advantage of current developing scenarios where economy, trade and commerce serve as a determinants towards growth in positive relations.

On China's economy, he said: "China is not one of the emerging economies but a leading economy and therefore, the role of China in the global economy is bound to go up. We should look for the future to develop our relations through trade and commerce."

India and China fought a bitter border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties.

The border dispute with China was inherited by India from the British rulers, who hosted a 1914 conference with the Tibetan and Chinese governments that set the border in what is now Arunachal Pradesh.

China has never recognised the 1914 boundary, known as the McMahonLine, and claims 90,000 square km, nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh, as its own territory.