Indian media hype about China-India border dispute benefits none

Indian media, which have traditionally focused heavily on the border disputes between New Delhi and Beijing, are now asserting again that Chinese troops have crossed the "border" between the two countries.

This came just a few months after similar reports soured to some extent the atmosphere of a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India.

Fortunately, Beijing and New Delhi, with political wisdom, made joint efforts to defuse the tensions timely, and the visit, part of Li's maiden overseas tour since assuming premiership in March, turned out a big success.

Li and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, through candid talks and in-depth discussions, substantially enhanced strategic mutual trust, which is a valuable thing for two countries that fought a brief border war in 1962.

Looking back on Indian media hype about "Chinese border intrusions," one has to admit such sensational reports are indeed harmful to the China-India relationship.

Such reports have only served to further sow misunderstandings between Indians and Chinese even at a time when their leaders are working hard to manage their differences and to build a constructive relationship that can benefit both sides.

Back to the border disputes, it is worth noting that both Beijing and New Delhi have repeatedly said they are committed to maintaining peace and stability along the border before the issues are completely resolved.

The disputes, a historical hangover, were not created in one day, neither will they be resolved overnight. It is unwise to let isolated incidents along the border to negatively affect the promising China-India relationship.

China and India, as two major emerging economies, have much to gain by further deepening political and economic ties.

Despite sometimes frosty political relations, China has become one of India's top trading partners. Both countries have agreed to increase their bilateral trade, standing at 66.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, to 100 billion dollars by 2015.

The two economies, with distinctive competitive advantages, can also work on more joint investment projects.

Beijing and New Delhi should build on the positive momentum yielded by Premier Li's visit. After all, the right track forward for the two gaint neighbors is to boost investment, expand trade and strengthen links so that both countries can benefit from the win-win cooperation.

As for media from both countries, playing up the border disputes is hardly a constructive way of doing things.