Congress veteran and Rahul Gandhi’s close aide Sam Pitroda has said the threat from China is often blown out of proportion, and it is time to recognise and respect that country.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Mr Pitroda was categorical in his take on India-China relations saying that there is a need to change India’s mindset and stop assuming that China is the enemy.

He said that India’s approach has been confrontational from the beginning. “Our attitude is that of confrontation from day one, and that attitude creates enemies, and that creates certain support in the country. I think we need to change that pattern to assume that China is the enemy from day one. It is not just to China, but to everyone…”

“I don’t know what is the threat from China. I think this issue is often blown out of proportion because the US has the habit of defining an enemy,” he said.

The Congress leader said the time has come for all nations to come together. “I think the time has come for all of us to learn, increase communication, collaborate, operate and co-create and not have this command and control mindset. China is around… China is growing .. you know you got to recognise that and respect that … Every other country is going to grow, some will grow faster, some will grow slower. Those who are very poor have to grow faster, those who are well-accomplished and developed will have slower growth. Those who are developed will also have an ageing population, while those who are developing will have a young population. We will have to look at all these things together,” he said.

Mr Pitroda’s remarks come amid heightened discussions surrounding the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which included discussions on India-China border tensions.

During their joint press conference on February 13, Trump offered to help mediate the ongoing India-China tensions, signalling a willingness for the US to play a role in de-escalating the situation.

India swiftly dismissed Trump’s offer to mediate in its border dispute with China.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that India has maintained a bilateral approach in handling its disputes, including those with China. “Whatever issues we have with any of our neighbours, we have always adopted a bilateral approach to dealing with these issues. It’s no different between India and China. We have been discussing any issues that we have with them on a bilateral plane, and we will continue to do so,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)