Setbacks shouldn’t hit ties with India: China

BEIJING: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday said the differences over the disputed boundary in eastern Ladakh and “recent setbacks” in ties should not impact the overall Sino-Indian relationship and claimed that several forces were trying to destabilise relations between the two countries

However, he did not give any indication about the way forward to resolve the friction along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Ties between the two countries have dipped to their lowest in decades following a border clash in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan valley in June 2020, which left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. Several rounds of diplomatic and military talks have failed to resolve the tension or lead to a complete disengagement of troops. Thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry have been delopyed on both sides of the border. Addressing his annual press conference on China’s foreign policy on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), Wang said, “China, India relations have encountered some setbacks in recent years which don’t serve the fundamental interests of two countries and the two peoples.”

Wang did not give a timeline for the disengagement of troops on the Chinese side of the LAC. He called for managing boundary differences through consultation, actively seeking a “fair and equitable” settlement.

Wang added that “some forces” have always sought to stoke tensions between China and India.

Wang said China hopes that India will work with them to “…uphold the strategic consensus that our two countries pose no threat, offer development opportunities to each other and continue to build mutual trust”.