Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that India-China relations have made “positive strides” and achieved a series of encouraging outcomes at all levels after last year’s breakthrough ending the over four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.Wang’s remarks came during his annual press conference here as he replied to a question on how Beijing views the course of bilateral ties after the two countries ended the prolonged stalemate in the ties.
“China-India relations have made positive strides over the past year” after the successful meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia, Wang said.
Both Xi and Modi provided strategic guidance for the improvement of ties at the Kazan meeting, Wang said on the sidelines of the annual session of China’s parliament currently underway here. After this, both sides earnestly followed through on the important common understanding of the leaders, “strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at all levels and achieved a series of positive outcomes”, he said.
India and China completed the disengagement process late last year after firming up a pact for the withdrawal of troops from Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh, ending over four years of freeze in ties.
After the finalisation of the pact, Modi and Xi held talks in Kazan on October 23. In the meeting, the two sides decided to revive the various dialogue mechanisms.
After that, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Wang held the 23rd Special Representatives (SR) dialogue in Beijing on December 18.
On January 26, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri travelled to the Chinese capital and held talks with his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong under the framework of the ‘Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister’ mechanism.
In an apparent reference to India stressing the importance of peace at borders for the development of relations, Wang reiterated China’s stand that the differences over the boundary or on other issues should not affect the overall bilateral 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 powerful political bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
“We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question or specific differences to affect the overall picture of our bilateral ties,” he said.
China believes that as the largest neighbours, both countries should be partners in each other’s success.
“A cooperative partnership between the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for both sides,” he said.
“There is every reason for us to support each other rather than undermine each other or undercut each other,” he said, adding that both the countries “should work with each other rather than guard against each other”.
“This is the only path that truly serves the fundamental interests of the two countries,” Wang said.
“As important members of the Global South, we have the responsibility to take the lead in opposing hegemonism and power politics” he said in apparent reference to the United States.
“We must not only safeguard legitimate rights and interests of our countries but also uphold the basic norms governing international relations,” he said.
“If China and India join hands, the prospect of greater democracy in international affairs and the stronger Global South will improve greatly,” he said. Wang said 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations.
“China stands ready to work with India to sum up past experience and forge a fast forward and advance China-India relations on the track of sound and stable development,” he said.