By Gaurav Sharma,

Beijing : China on Thursday said India will gain more if it joins the Belt and Road initiative at an early date.

Inviting India to be a part of China’s ambitious multi-trillion dollar project, the Foreign Ministry said New Delhi will get tangible benefits if it joins the initiative.

“We welcome other countries including India to participate in the Belt and Road initiative. The Belt and Road will bring tangible benefits to you if participated in at an early date,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

He was responding to reported remarks by a Chinese official that Beijing will try to address New Delhi’s concern over the Belt and Road project whose key artery goes through the disputed Kashmir.

Geng said he was not aware of any such statement.

India greatly opposes the project because the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor cuts through a part of Kashmir held by Islamabad and claimed by New Delhi.

However, China maintains that the project will not affect its neutrality over the Kashmir issue.

“As far as India is concerned, the goal of this initiative is to promote the connectivity between counties and promote common prosperity of all countries and the initiative will not affect China’s position on the relevant issue,” Geng said.

—IANS