China FM: India-China Ties Make Positive Strides, Boundary Issues Shouldn’t Overshadow Relations

China FM: Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, said on Friday that India-China relations, following last year's breakthrough regarding the four-year military impasse in eastern Ladakh, have made "positive strides" with checkered progress at all levels.

Wang lay emphasis on the fact that some specific differences, bound by boundary issues, should not be allowed to cast a shadow on the general air of cooperation.

“Over the past year, China-India relations have progressed positively,” Wang said, the question was posed asking about the perception of the bilateral relationship following the resolution of the long-standing deadlock.

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Wang spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions and said that in Kazan, Xi and Modi provided strategic direction to improving bilateral ties.

Consequent to that, both sides worked to apply the shared understanding forged by the leaders to enhance exchanges and practical cooperation across various levels, which he said has borne significant progress.

Late last year, India and China ended the disengagement process after agreeing on troop withdrawal from Depsang and Demchok, the last remaining friction points along the eastern Ladakh border, thus breaking a four-year-long deadlock in bilateral relations.

Following this agreement, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping met on October 23 in Kazan, where they reached consensus on resuming several dialogue mechanisms.

This was followed by the 23rd Special Representatives (SR) dialogue held by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on December 18.

Another high-level engagement took place when Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing on January 26 and met with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong under the "Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister" mechanism.

China calls for stronger cooperation

Wang reiterated China's stand that the boundary differences or any other disputes should never be allowed to impact its overall relationship with India, referring to India's emphasis on ensuring peace at the borders as conducive to stronger ties.

“As two ancient civilisations, we have enough wisdom and capability to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas pending a fair and reasonable solution to the boundary issue,” said Wang, who is also a member of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) powerful political bureau.

Emphasising broader cooperation, he added, “We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question or specific differences to affect the overall picture of our ties.”

He said it was the best assistance possible from one large neighbour to another.

“A cooperative partnership between the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for both sides,” Wang said.

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Calling for mutual trust, he stated, “There is every reason for us to support each other rather than undermine or undercut one another. Both countries should work together rather than guard against each other.”

Wang said that a stable relationship suited the fundamental interests of both.

“As important members of the Global South, we have the responsibility to take the lead in opposing hegemonism and power politics,” he said, in an apparent reference to the United States.

He further impressed upon the point that both countries should preserve their legitimate interests while keeping in mind international norms.

"If China and India join hands, the prospects of greater democracy in international affairs and a stronger Global South will improve significantly," he said.

Wang added that, with this, 2025 would mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two.

“China stands ready to work with India to sum up past experiences and push China-India relations towards sound and stable development,” he added.

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