Sonia Gandhi with Communist Party of China politburo member Liu Qi in Beijing. (PTI)

New Delhi, Oct. 27: Sonia Gandhi today praised Beijing’s economic reforms and hoped that pragmatism and mutual self-interest would boost India-China ties.

China had shown the world that “it is possible in a relatively short time to substantially eradicate poverty, to inculcate dynamism and to unleash the forces of social and economic creativity”, she told students at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

“This is the China that we respect, this is the China we wish to partner in the future.”

The Congress media cell released copies of Sonia’s speech.

On her first visit to China as the power behind the Indian government, Sonia, who is accompanied by son Rahul, referred fleetingly to the border dispute and made no mention of strategic competition or the race for energy reserves. Her focus was on how India and China have to “work and prosper together”.

“There is no race or competition between our two countries. On the contrary, there are numerous opportunities to pool our resources for dealing effectively with common problems and challenges,” she said.

In her overseas visits so far, Sonia has never expounded her views on bilateral relations except in Russia in June 2004. She had then described the Indo-Russian relationship as one of “unusual resilience, stability and continuity despite great changes in the international and domestic environments”. Her later trips have had more to do with health, culture and the Gandhian legacy.

Without getting nostalgic about the millennia-old India-China relationship, the Congress president outlined her vision of a partnership between the neighbours in the 21st century.

“How can we build on our long traditions of peaceful contacts and exchange a catalytic partnership that is relevant for the 21st century? This is today’s imperative,” she said.

“Pragmatism and mutual self-interest offer a sound basis for the future development of our relationship. We may well have different views and different perspectives on both bilateral and global issues. That is only natural. I have no doubt, however, that there is no problem that cannot be sorted out through free and frank dialogue and discussion.”

She was effusive about the growth projections for both countries but also spoke of how India was “not blind to the fact that as we develop, within our society, we need to address age-old problems of economic and social inequality”.

Without labouring the point, she mentioned how India did this “within our own democratic framework in which people’s participation is paramount and every citizen, especially the most deprived and disadvantaged, has a voice”.

Among the areas of collaboration Sonia spoke of were bilateral trade and investments, co-ordination in the World Trade Organisation, climate change, education, culture and “youth connectivity”.

“It is you, the youth, who will give us the reason, the hope and the energy to find new solutions to old problems,” she said.