Jiang Yili, the scholar-turned-diplomat wife of the Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui, has called for harmony between India and Pakistan, asserting that Beijing's ties with both South Asian neighbors "is not a zero-sum game," in an interview with an Indian news site.

Acknowledging the "special" nature of China-Pakistan relationship – "we describe it as 'taller than the mountains, deeper than the seas, and sweeter than honey'" – she assured India that it shouldn't be worried about Beijing's close ties with Islamabad.

"Both India and Pakistan are friends of China. We really wish that the two neighboring countries remain peaceful and harmonious. It's not as if we want only Pakistan, or only India,” she told The Print news portal in an interview, the transcript of which was also posted on the website of the Chinese Embassy in India on Wednesday.

The scholar of Indian philosophy, who is also the first Chinese citizen to receive a PhD degree from an Indian university, has authored several books on foreign relations and religions, including one comparing Hindu Brahminical thought with Buddhism. Her Chinese translation of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's autobiography "Daughter of the East" is a best-seller in China.

Jiang's latest book "Fond Memories on the Campus - Stories of Chinese and Indian Exchange Students" is based on her memoir of her stint at Delhi University in the early 1990s. The book will be launched later this week during the visit of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India.

Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's informal summit in Wuhan in April, Jiang expressed satisfaction with the progress and direction of the China-India relations.

"Sometimes, politicians are the driving force to enhance bilateral relations. We should make good use of this element to enhance people-to-people exchanges, whether in agriculture, high-tech, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals or just between people," she elucidated.

Wang will visit New Delhi later this week to launch the high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange mechanism as agreed upon during the Xi-Modi meeting in Wuhan.

Jiang also stressed the need to boost people-to-people contact. “We only have one million tourists between us, but with Korea and Japan, more than 10 million people travel on both sides,” she said, also citing the similarities in traditions and values of the two ancient civilizations.

Jiang's interest in Buddhism and other Indian philosophies hasn't faded. She said that the story of how Buddha renounced his regal life to seek the spiritual meaning of life is still very popular in China. “All religions advocate that people do good things and avoid evil. People want to seek some spiritual goal. They want to realize the meaning of life,” she told The Print.

Jiang, who has also lived and worked in Pakistan, fondly remembered her time there. "I really liked Pakistan. People are very friendly. I really enjoyed my life there.”

She had accompanied her ambassador husband to Pakistan in 2007, a period of political and social turbulence and a year which also witnessed the violent assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

"As a famous female leader in the Islamic world, Benazir Bhutto was, and still is, very popular in China," Jiang said, explaining why she along with a few colleagues from the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad decided to translate her autobiography.

"My husband visited her (Bhutto) at her residence in Islamabad and requested her to write a preface for the book,” says Jiang. “She agreed to do it.”

But Bhutto was killed in a bomb blast during a political rally for 2008 general election before the book was published. Jiang and her colleagues expedited the translation of the book, which still remains a best-seller in China.

'We enjoy much more religious freedom than ever before'

The scholar-turned-diplomat defended China's religious freedom while asserting that the "outside perception" is misplaced.

"Many people in the outside world think the Chinese society is very tightly controlled, but really, we enjoy much more religious freedom than ever before,” she told The Print.

Jiang's statement assumes importance amid reports of Beijing's alleged crackdown on religious minorities, including recent reports of 100 Christians being allegedly arrested earlier this month and ongoing international concerns over the treatment of the Muslim Uygur minority and other ethnic groups in western China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected such reports in the international media as "false accusations" and a "smearing campaign driven by ulterior motives." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has even appealed the world to ignore such "gossip" and trust the government.

Last week, the Chinese government published a white paper titled "Progress in Human Rights over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in China," which reiterates, among many things, the Chinese people's right to practice their religion.

Jiang, meanwhile, also pointed out that religion, or at least the culture of religion, has made a comeback in China. The church has returned and Beijing alone has over 40 mosques. Countrywide, there are over 39,000 mosques, of which 25,000 are in Xinjiang. Last month, Beijing hosted the 10th National Chinese Christian Congress which was also attended by China's top political advisor Wang Yang.

[Cover Photo: Chinese Ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui (right) along with his wife Jiang Yili during their visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, in India's northern Punjab state, Aug. 10, 2018. /VCG Photo]