Liu Zongyi, Secretary-General, China and South Asian Studies Centre, Shanghai Institute of International Studies, in an interview with the Chinese news-portal Guancha on March 24, claimed that the border standoff has lasted for so long. A reason, he said, is that in the past year, China has faced great pressure in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and the East China Sea. The United States has been stirring up troubles in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait with the intention of provoking incidents. "This created strategic pressure on us" and the "Indian thinks this is a good time. He thinks that the Chinese definitely cannot fight on two fronts, so he wants to force China to compromise. But now we have completely reversed the situation through our own efforts and persistence". He added that "With regard to the armaments on the Western Front, we have also upgraded a large number of new equipment, equipped with the Southern Xinjiang Military Region and the Tibet Military Region". "A large number of new equipment has come in handy". He claimed that "the Indian military was very shocked, because they did not expect China to deploy more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles on the south bank of Pangong Lake. At first they thought there were only a few dozen". He added "we must also see that India's domestic hostility towards China has not changed at all. India’s aggressiveness on the border cannot be changed, especially with the enhancement of infrastructure construction capabilities, some gray areas in the original control line area have become areas that both China and India can reach. There are more than a dozen such dispute points. Even if it is temporarily resolved in this place, there is still the possibility of repetition in the future, and confrontations may occur in other places. Considering India’s strategic speculative nature, if the international situation changes, he may come back again. We must remain highly vigilant in this regard". Liu Zongyi also said Chinese enterprises and capital need to evaluate whether India is worth investing. He said India has always adhered to the stance of economic nationalism. Chinese companies have invested and built a lot of infrastructure in India in the past. However, some of our Chinese companies in India receive the "third-class" treatment. We are included in the "alternative" list by the Indians, and there are areas where we cannot enter. If India really wants Chinese capital investments, then it must also give Chinese companies a security guarantee. If this is not possible, I think Chinese companies should seriously reconsider their investments in India.
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