BEIJING: Chinese and Indian foreign ministers met recently and discussed future cooperation in various fields, people-to-people exchanges, and normalized management of the border situation.
The Chinese media Xinhua has reported that in the meeting on Thursday, China and India “vowed” to improve the bilateral ties.
The duo held the meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held from Wednesday to Thursday.
Qin said during the meeting that as neighbouring countries and major emerging economies, China and India have far more common interests than differences.
The development and revitalization of China and India display the strength of developing countries, which will change the future of one-third of the world’s population, the future of Asia and even the whole world, Qin noted, the Chinese Media Xinhua reported.
The two sides, said Qin, should view their bilateral relations in the context of the once-in-a-century changes in the world, understand bilateral cooperation from the perspective of their respective national rejuvenation, and be partners on the path to modernization.
He said the two sides should implement the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, maintain dialogue and properly resolve disputes, and promote the improvement of bilateral relations and the steady moving forward of the relations.
The boundary issue should be put in the proper place in bilateral relations, Qin said, adding that the situation on the borders should be brought under normalized management as soon as possible.
EAM Jaishankar agreed that bilateral relations should be understood and improved from a historical perspective and strategic height. More cooperation platforms should be established to promote India-China relations along the right track, the Chinese media reported. Jaishankar said the current border situation is gradually stabilizing, and both sides should work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Notably, while addressing the Forum For Nationalist Thinkers, Hyderabad Chapter Talk On ‘India’s G20 Presidency’, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that relations with China will not be normal until the issue of the face-off that happened at the beginning of the COVID lockdown is resolved.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the relations with China will not improve until the issue of the face-off that happened at the beginning of the COVID lockdown is resolved. While addressing the issues with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that happened in 2020, the EAM said that we must not forget that it happened when our lockdown had just started.
“We were completely preoccupied with the COVID challenge. Please appreciate the anonymity of what Prime Minister Modi did. He deployed forces at this great height in very difficult conditions in the middle of COVID. And then took this challenge head-on,” he added.
He further said while assuring, “I can tell you the entire world has taken notice of this. They have also noted that since then we have stood firm. We have made it very clear that until there is a resolution to this issue, our relations with China will not be normal.” (ANI)