Modi will not be "India's Abe" to target China: official media

As Narendra Modi is set to form the next government in India, Chinese official media today opined he will not be "India's Abe" to target China but could become "India's Nixon" by resolving thorny issues like the border dispute.
Allaying fears here that the BJP leader could become "India's Abe" (Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe whom China greatly detests), an article in the state-run Global Times said Modi may help solve the border dispute.
The Chinese official media has been giving big build up for the 63-year-old Modi, whose BJP swept the Lok Sabhja polls with massive mandate.
"The Sino-Indian border issue was generated under the leadership of then Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi and the BJP have no historical burden over this, which may help solve the thorny issue.

"The new prime minister will boost India's infrastructure and manufacturing, and then there will be myriad of opportunities for Chinese enterprises. As a right-winger in Indian politics, Modi is more likely to become India's "Nixon" who will further propel the China-India relationship," it said.
"Some Western media are fomenting discord between China and India. They portrayed Modi as "India's Abe" who will take a tough stance against China," the article written by a scholar from state-run Shanghai Institute for International Studies said.

"Modi acted indeed aggressively on the Sino-Indian border issue during his election campaign. He also vowed to establish a "web of allies" by strengthening strategic cooperation with countries on China's periphery such as Japan, Vietnam and Russia.

"But Modi is unlikely to act as vehemently as Abe, as it would be of no benefit to India's economy at all," it said.
Much of China's over USD 900 million investment in India is in Gujarat, of which Modi served as a three-time Chief Minister.
Amid the deepening divide over the disputed islands with Japan in the East China Sea, China in recent months has been criticising Abe, accusing him of attempting to stitch an anti-China alliance.
The then US President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to Beijing was an important step in formally normalising ties between America and China as it marked the first time a US president had visited the country, which at that time considered the US as one of its foes. The historic visit ended 25 years of separation between the two sides.