India, China share two millennia of legacy of learning and dialogue: Indian envoy

BEIJING: Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Doraiswami has said mutual learning of languages and a dialogue of ideas over two millennia have been a defining feature of ties between the two countries.

Doraiswami, who took over as India's envoy to China last month, visited the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), where he delivered a lecture on Friday, and interacted with students and faculty members.

BFSU, a premier institution for foreign languages in China, offers courses in 102 languages, including Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Sanskrit and Urdu. It recently added Punjabi to its list of courses.

The languages are taught primarily to Chinese students as well as diplomats and officials.

Many of its students go on to work with Chinese foreign-language media organisations, including state radio and television services catering to overseas audiences.

During his lecture, Doraiswami, a fluent Mandarin speaker, highlighted how the study of languages, societies and a dialogue of ideas had been a defining feature of India-China engagement for more than two millennia.

“Citing examples from the Mauryan period to the modern era, he [Doraiswami] noted how exchanges between the world’s two oldest continuous civilizations enriched both societies through the sharing of knowledge, philosophy, artistic traditions, technologies, and innovation,” according to a post on X by the Indian Embassy in Beijing.

“He emphasised that such interactions historically generated mutual benefit and remained more important than ever as both countries undergo profound economic, technological and social transformation,” it said.

It added, “The lecture also explored the remarkable changes taking place in India today and the need for deeper knowledge, academic engagement, and people-to-people exchanges to better understand each other’s contemporary realities.”

It was followed by an interactive session during which Doraiswami answered questions from students. During his visit, Doraiswami was briefed on the activities of the university by BFSU President Jia Wenjian.