Don’t allow boundary dispute to define bilateral ties: Chinese FM
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said India and China have “enough wisdom and capability to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas
India and China shouldn’t allow their boundary dispute to define bilateral ties or let specific differences affect the overall relationship, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Friday amid efforts by the two sides to normalise relations after ending a prolonged face-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Wang, who has met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in recent weeks to take forward the process of normalising relations, made the remarks while addressing a news conference on the margins of the 14th National People’s Congress, the highest state body in China.
While speaking on China’s foreign policy and external relations, Wang suggested a “cooperative pas de deux” – the French term for a dance for two people – as the “only right choice” for India and China.
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“We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question, or let specific differences affect the overall picture of our bilateral ties,” Wang said, according to a transcript of his remarks on India-China relations on the website of the Chinese foreign ministry.
India and China have “enough wisdom and capability to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas pending a fair and reasonable solution”, he said.
“China always believes that the two should be partners that contribute to each other’s success. A cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for both sides,” he added.
Wang’s remarks came at a time when the two sides are engaged in the delicate process of rebuilding trust and normalising relations following an understanding last October that facilitated the withdrawal of frontline troops from the two remaining “friction points” of Demchok and Depsang in Ladakh sector of the LAC.
The military standoff that began in April-May 2020, and especially a brutal clash at Galwan Valley that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, had taken bilateral ties to a six-decade low. Following the understanding ending the face-off at the LAC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive a host of mechanisms to address the border dispute and normalise relations.
Wang, who is a member of the political bureau of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, said India-China relations made “positive strides” over the past year. The “successful meeting” between Xi and Modi last October “provided strategic guidance” for improving and developing bilateral ties.
Both sides have followed through on important common understandings of the leaders and strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at all levels, and “achieved a series of positive outcomes”, he said.
As each other’s largest neighbors, India and China should contribute to each other’s success, and as the two largest developing countries, they have a “shared task to accelerate our countries’ development and revitalisation”, Wang said.
“There is every reason for us to support each other rather than undercut each other, work with each other rather than guard against each other. This is the path that truly serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples,” he said.
Wang further suggested that India and China, as important members of the Global South, have the responsibility to take the lead in “opposing hegemonism and power politics”.
Amid intense churn caused by the unpredictable economic and geopolitical policies of the Donald Trump administration in the US, Wang added: “We must not only safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of our countries, but also uphold the basic norms governing international relations.
“When China and India join hands, the prospects for greater democracy in international relations and a stronger Global South will improve greatly.”
As 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic relations, Beijing is ready to work with India to “sum up past experience, forge a path forward, and advance” relations on the track of sound and stable development, he said.
On Wednesday, while addressing an event at a think tank in London, Jaishankar said India wants a relationship with China “where our interests are respected, where our sensitivities are recognised, where it works for both of us”. The two sides are discussing steps to move their relations towards a “more predictable, stable and positive direction”.
This includes resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and direct flights and management of trans-border rivers, he said.
