New Delhi: In an apparent ice-breaking move, China on Tuesday said the border situation with India has moved from emergency response to normalized management and control.
In her remark at the 74th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, the Charge d Affaires Ma Jia said, "The two sides maintained communication through diplomatic and military channels to move the border situation from emergency response to normalized management and control".
She added, "The bilateral trade has performed strongly, and the trade volume reached 77.6 billion US dollars in the first seven months of this year. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries continue to increase". India was represented at China National Day by Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs of India who has also served as Director General of the India-Taipei Association (de facto Indian envoy to Taiwan) in the past.
The Chinese envoy reiterated that the only two major developing countries with a population of over one billion and major emerging economies with broad development prospects, China and India shoulder increasingly important responsibilities in maintaining global stability and promoting common development.
"China-India relations have gone beyond the bilateral scope and acquired global and strategic significance", added the Charge de Affaires. It is to be noted that this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the SCO and BRICS Summits and had a conversation during the BRICS Summit. Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
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The Chinese envoy said she hoped that the two sides would follow the important consensus reached by the two leaders and translate it into concerted actions taken by all departments and in all fields, to bring China-India relations back to the track of sound and steady development at an early date.
"We hope to firmly stick to the correct direction of China-India relations. China and India are eternal neighbours who need to accurately understand each other’s strategic intentions, and to support and contribute to each other’s success instead of undermining and doubting each other", said the Chargé d’Affaires at the embassy in New Delhi.
She further called for the need to jointly oppose zero-sum games and keep the region away from geopolitical calculations. "China and India have the ability and wisdom to find a way for friendly coexistence between neighbouring major countries and jointly create the “Asian Century”, said Ma Jia.
China further hoped to accelerate the resumption of practical cooperation and deepen it, she said and added that China’s second centenary goal and India’s “Amrit Kaal” development goal are the biggest strategic objectives for the two countries respectively.
"China-India economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, and an important booster to “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat,” she said.
She asserted that many of the problems in China-India relations are left over from history and will take time to resolve and called for the need to consolidate and develop the overall situation of friendly cooperation between the two countries and properly manage and resolve specific issues in this process, rather than allowing specific issues to define the bilateral relations, to promote the more mature and stable relationship between our two countries.
The ties between India and China are at an all-time low and the relationship even got worse after the Galwan Valley clash at Eastern Ladakh. Several rounds of diplomatic talks have taken place yet both sides have not been able to arrive at a consensus on a solution.
