Third is the issue of permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council. BRICS gives India an opportunity to demonstrate it is the equal of Russia and China and build support for its permanent membership status. India and Brazil both want permanent seats on the Security Council, and Russia has more or less indicated its support for their aspirations. India wants BRICS to push reform of global governance and the United Nations, and hopes to use the opportunity to press its case for permanent membership and persuade China to express clear support.

Currently, the BRICS countries account for 42 percent of the population, 30 percent of the territory and 18 percent of GDP globally. There are enormous opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. And as the two most populous BRICS countries, sharing extensive land and sea borders, cooperation between China and India on the world stage is being watched closely by the international community.

China and India can take joint action to combat the international financial crisis. China and India have both set themselves the goal of rapid economic development. As two rapidly rising emerging economies, they are already making a major contribution to overall world economic growth. Furthermore, both want to see currency stability, a bigger role for emerging countries in international financial institutions, stable commodity prices, and joint measures taken to ensure food and energy security.

Secondly, when it comes to issues of global governance, China and India speak more or less the same language. Both are unwilling to see superpowers, or a small minority of countries, dominate global affairs. They both want to use the U.N. and other multilateral organizations to strengthen the voice of developing countries. Neither wants to see Western countries use human rights or other excuses to meddle in the affairs of weaker countries, or justify military interventions.

Furthermore, China and India want to reinforce their cooperation on Climate Change. They want to see all countries take on common but differentiated responsibilities. They want developed countries to acknowledge their historical responsibilities, accept the right of developing countries to develop, and give developing countries, especially the poorest among them, all necessary financial and technical assistance.

As regards China and India's bilateral relations, it must be said that there are still several problems, some of which are unlikely to be solved in the short term. But these issues should not be a barrier to cooperation on the world stage. On the contrary, it is more likely that Sino-Indian cooperation on a multilateral level will have a positive influence on bilateral relations, mitigate strategic mistrust, and strengthen mutual political understanding.

(This article was written in Chinese and translated by John Sexton.)

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