China, India working to safeguard border peace
Two countries vow to push talks on resolving issues in relations
China and India have agreed to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas and to push forward bilateral relations during a meeting on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said in a news release.
The 21st round of talks between Chinese and Indian special representatives on boundary issues was co-chaired by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
It was Wang’s first meeting as special representative on border talks with India.
The two sides agreed to continuously promote negotiation for resolving border issues to reach fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solutions at an early date, the news release said.
They agreed to apply the consensus of the two countries’ leaders to every level of personnel, including frontline troops, and further improve measures to build trust in border areas, while strengthening communication and coordination between departments involved in border issues.
They shared the view that border trade and people-topeople exchanges should be expanded step by step, to consolidate public opinion supporting friendly cooperation in border areas.
China-India relations have witnessed positive progress and stepped into a new development stage, they underscored, adding that they will continuously strengthen communication and lift political mutual trust.
Wang called upon the two countries to promote constructive negotiation on border issues in order to create better conditions and environment for bilateral ties.
Doval said the two countries should send a positive signal to the world that China and India have the wisdom and ability to peacefully resolve the issue through dialogue.
It is the first talk between the special representatives after the informal Wuhan summit between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April. The last round, held in New Delhi between then state councilor Yang Jiechi and Doval, took place after China and India defused a twomonth border standoff between their troops last year.
Sun Hongnian, a researcher of China’s southwest borders at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the talk worked as a stabilizer in China-India relations.
“The reaffirmation of strengthening negotiation on border issues pulls the two sides back from the edge of conflict and ... sets a clear goal of resolving their disputes”, Sun said.