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China hopes India's 'look east'
policy will lead to peace: PTI

Anil K Joseph in Beijing

While welcoming India's 'look east' foreign policy initiatives, China has expressed hope that New Delhi's increasing engagement with south-east Asian nations would lead to regional peace and stability.

"We have taken note of relevant reports. We welcome India and relevant countries engaging in friendly co-operative relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said.

"We hope that this relationship is beneficial to regional peace and stability," Zhu said while commenting on the just-concluded visit to Vietnam and Indonesia by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

At the same time, Chinese officials, experts and the media are closely watching New Delhi's attempts to reach out to key nations in south-east Asia and forge defence pacts in an area widely considered a stronghold of Beijing.

The Chinese official media has also been paying attention to India's 'look east' diplomacy in recent months and Vajpayee's visit to Hanoi in particular received good coverage.

The state-run Xinhua news agency noted that Vajpayee's visit to Hanoi and Jakarta "will bring into sharper focus India's 'look east' policy aimed at further consolidating relations with the south-east Asian nations."

"The visit also assumes significance as it is the first after India brought in a powerful cultural dimension to its ties with south-east Asian nations through the six-nation Mekong-Ganga project last year," it said.

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