India-China Border Stable, Both Sides Should Push For Further Cooling: Chinese FM Qin To Jaishankar

The Chinese Foreign Minister said the situation at the India-China border is stable and both sides should consolidate present achievements as he met EAM Jaishankar on the sidelines of the SCO meeting.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting. ( Image Source :Twitter: @DrSJaishankar )

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier. He said this in talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Benaulim in Goa on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting on Thursday. Qin restated China’s stance that the current situation on the China-India border is generally stable, in an apparent reference to the ongoing military standoff in Eastern Ladakh which brought the relations to standstill, news agency PTI reported.

The ChinaForeign Minister said the two sides should continue to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, consolidate the existing achievements, strictly abide by relevant agreements, push for further cooling and easing of the border situation and maintain sustainable peace and tranquillity in the border areas, a press release on Qin-Jaishankar talks issued here on Friday said.

In a tweet after the talks, Jaishankar said the focus remained on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. "A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas," he said.

Jaishankar said the discussions were also held on issues relating to the SCO, G20 and BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa).

Qin maintained that China and India, as the two most populous developing countries in the world, are both in a critical period of modernisation. He said we should draw lessons from history, approach the bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, respect, learn from and make achievements from each other, and embark on a new path of harmonious coexistence, peaceful development and common rejuvenation among major neighbours, so as to lend impetus to national rejuvenation and inject stability and positive energy into world peace and development and that China is ready to work with India to carry out bilateral consultations and exchanges, enhance dialogue and cooperation under multilateral frameworks, deepen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues and bringing China-India relations back to the track of sound and stable development.

Qin Gang said China supports India in hosting a successful SCO summit and hopes that India, as the rotating chair, will play a positive role in the success of the summit in the spirit of unity and coordination.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, the press release added.

Jaishankar Raises LAC Issue With Chinese Foreign Minister Qin, Agrees On 'Multipolar System' With Russia's Lavrov

Jaishankar and Qin also discussed the upcoming G20 and BRICS meetings. Both ministers held a bilateral meeting in March as well when Qin was here for the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting and India had told him then that the situation at the border was "abnormal".

This comes after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Chinese Foreign Minister Li Shangfu that China had violated all border protocols and that has eroded the entire bilateral relationship.

They will be face to face again on Friday for the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting when a broader consensus will be arrived at by the ministers.

At the moment, both sides have positioned a massive amount of troops and artillery at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The talks for a process of disengagement and de-escalation have also slowed down in the past year.