Beijing, Oct 23 (IANS): Indian can act as a balancing force in triangular relations like China-US-India and China-Russia-India, a leading Chinese daily commented.

“In triangular relations with China-US-India or China-Russia-India, India can act as a balancing force, and its choice of flexibility will break the balance and ensure its interests,” the Global Times stated in an article headlined 'Mutual needs paves way for Singh's China visit' Tuesday, the day Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed in Beijing on a bilateral visit.

With both China and India aiming for “great power status” on the world stage, neither side can afford to have an enemy at the door step, according to the article written by Xie Chao, a visiting doctoral student at the Department of Politics and International Relations in the University of Oxford.

The article noted that the mainstream media in India has restrained nationalist calls for Singh to toe a hard line on a series of potential conflicts between the two Asian giants so that Singh's visit ends up fruitfully.

Actually, Sino-Indian disputes cannot reflect the true colours of bilateral strategic interaction on the international stage.

“In fact, in the early 1990s, India made the move to improve its relations with Pakistan and China by signing confidence-building agreements,” the article stated.

“Unlike Sino-Japanese disputes over the Diaoyu Islands in which Japan is determined to escalate the situation, Sino-Indian border issues have generally been peaceful and stable since the first round of border talks in 2003, which did not solve the whole issue but showed a mutual willingness to talk.”

It is in the interests of India, a potential big player in international politics, “to keep a subtle balance in its relations with big powers”, the writer noted.

“As noted in Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks with Singh this March, China and India should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, deepen mutual strategic trust, and hence strengthen coordination and cooperation on international affairs,” the article said.

It also mentioned that Prime Minister Singh “gave a very positive response” saying that India adhered to an independent foreign policy and would not be used as a tool to contain China.

“As noted in Nonalignment 2.0, a strategic framework for India foreign policy published in 2012, the core objective of India's strategic approach should be to give India maximum options in its relations with the outside world, hence enhancing India's strategic space and capacity for independent development,” the article pointed out.

“If this is so, China should welcome and encourage an India pursuing strategic autonomy,” it concluded.