‘Border issue should not be linked to ties’

The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday said that the border issue with India should not be linked to bilateral ties between the two countries, a day after external affairs minister S Jaishankar said that the clashes along the Line of Actual Control last year “profoundly disturbed” bilateral ties. “Foreign minister [S] Jaishankar emphasised the importance of China-india relations and demonstrated the importance that India attaches to China-india relations. China affirms this,” Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at the regular ministry briefing on Friday. China has taken note of Jaishankar’s comments, Zhao said, adding, “At the same time, I also want to emphasise that border issues should not be linked to bilateral relations. This is an important experience in the continuous development of bilateral relations over the past years.”