China seeks stronger ties in South Asia with united Covid-19 front

Beijing fears rise in coronavirus cases in India could flow over into neighbouring countries and China, observers say

India would understand if other nations in the region accepted help from Beijing, analyst says

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China fears other countries in South Asia could be affected by India’s surge in coronavirus cases, observers say. Phot: AP

Published: 7:00am, 29 Apr 2021Updated: 3:46pm, 29 Apr 2021

As India battles a resurgence in coronavirus cases, China is shoring up ties with South Asia through cooperation on the pandemic.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh agreed on Tuesday to set up an emergency supplies reserve and a cooperation centre on poverty alleviation, among other initiatives.

India did not take part in the online meeting to discuss ways to counter Covid-19, an absence that observers said reflected the tense relations between China and India over their border stand-off in the Himalayas.

But Wang said China would help India to deal with the coronavirus. India has reported more than 300,000 daily new infections for the last week, with the number on Tuesday reaching 320,000.

Observers said China felt an urgent need to foster ties with other South Asian nations for fear that the virus would potentially spill over from India.

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