NEW DELHI: China has said the boundary issue with India “should be put in the proper place in bilateral relations” while calling for the situation on the borders to be brought under “normalised management” as soon as possible, according to Beijing’s version of the first-ever talks between new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang with Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar here on Thursday.
The two sides, said Qin, should view their bilateral relations in the context of the once-in-a-century changes in the world, maintain dialogue and properly resolve disputes, and promote the improvement of bilateral relations and the steady moving forward of relations.
China is willing to speed up the resumption of exchanges and cooperation with India in various fields, resume direct flights at the earliest date and facilitate people-to-people exchanges. China and India also have shared interests in safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries, promoting South-South cooperation and addressing climate change, said the Chinese Foreign Minister.
The Chinese formulation diverges from the Indian position which has been articulated by Jaishankar. “It is the willingness to take a long-term view of their ties that the two countries must display. Peace and tranquility in the border areas clearly remains the basis for normal relations,” Jaishankar had said, suggesting that unlike Beijing’s position, India wanted the border question to be first sorted out before ties in other areas could be developed.
Jaishankar and Qin had met on the margins of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
Just as the Chinese stand that the border issue with India should be bilaterally discussed along with other bilateral subjects is not new, Beijing’s call for borders to be brought under “normalised management” as soon as possible was last stated on January 15.