No stalemate with China on boundary row: India

India and China on Tuesday expressed satisfaction over the steady development of bilateral ties, with New Delhi insisting that there was no stalemate on the boundary issue and a solution cannot be found overnight.

"Basically, both sides are happy. We went over the details on how we could push (the bilateral relations) forward," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters after his talks with Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs He Yafei over a working lunch and separately with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi.

Menon, who is in Beijing to attend the G-5 meeting of India, China, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil ahead of the G-8 summit of rich nations in Japan in July, said he discussed with them "what we can do and what we have been doing on bilateral relationship. Both sides have expressed satisfaction at the developments in relationship".

Leaders of the two countries had given very clear directives on developing the strategic cooperative partnership as also the agreement on political parameters and guiding principles on the boundary dispute, he said.

"We have a large scale vision. It is more a question of translating it. We have a series of dialogue mechanisms on the boundary issue. We have Special Representatives", he said.

Asked if any specific date had been fixed for the next round of talks between the Special Representatives on the boundary issue, Menon said, "Not yet. No dates yet".

The Special Representatives have held 11 rounds of talks so far.

Menon, who also met Chinese State Councilor and Special Representative Dai Bingguo, disagreed with a suggestion that there was a stalemate on the boundary row.

"I wouldn't call it a stalemate. We have agreed guiding principles and we are discussing a framework, which will then translate into something specific and it is natural. It is not something that you can do overnight... Both sides are talking. They are dealing with the issue," Menon said.

He also said that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee would visit China in early June, adding the two sides discussed the expected high-level visits in the second half of the year. The dates for Mukherjee's visit are expected to be announced by China.

"Things are moving steadily," Menon, the first top Indian diplomat to visit China after the Tibet unrest erupted, said.

Asked if the Chinese side mentioned about the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Arunachal Pradesh recently, Menon replied in the negative.

He said the Chinese side said they were grateful to India "for what we have done for the torch relay".

"They were more concerned about the larger issue. They told us how they saw it", he said, declining to elaborate but apparently referring to the Dalai Lama's political activities.

He said India's approach was quite clear, on not allowing anything that breaks its law against a friendly country, from its soil.

Asked if the Chinese side was satisfied with India's action or if they want something more, Menon said, "They have seen exactly what we have done. They know our position and we know theirs. They have seen exactly how it works in practice. They have expressed appreciation."