China reacts to Modi's comments on border dispute

China on Thursday said that "sound and stable ties" serve the common interests of China and India as it reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that for New Delhi, ties with Beijing are important and the "prolonged situation" at the borders should be addressed urgently.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, which described India's rise as "unstoppable", Prime Minister Modi expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders.

“China noted Prime Minister Modi's remarks,” Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing when asked for her reaction to Modi's interview.

“Sound and stable China-India relations serve the interests of both countries and are conducive to peace and development in the region and beyond,” she said.

In his interview, which is the first to be given to a US magazine in the recent past, Modi said that for India, the relationship with China is important and significant. "It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us. Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world," he said.

On the boundary question, Mao reiterated China's oft-repeated stand that it does not “represent the entirety of China-India relations, and it should be placed appropriately in bilateral relations and managed properly”.

However, India has maintained that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.

She said both countries maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels on handling issues related to the border situation and have made positive progress.

“We hope that India will work with China, approach the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, keep building trust and engage in dialogue and cooperation, and seek to handle differences appropriately to put the relationship on a sound and stable track,” she said.

Meanwhile, Modi's remarks were welcomed by the official media here, which termed it a “gesture of goodwill”.

“In a welcome move that may give a timely boost to the development of peaceful and stable China-India relations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed the wish for the two neighbouring countries to 'urgently' resolve their long-standing border disputes,” the state-run China Daily said in its editorial.

“Modi's latest remarks could be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill, as the two sides try to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement to their border disputes at an early date and turn the final page on them,” it further said.

That the two countries have kept the talks on the ground and the consultation mechanism running provides grounds for optimism that they will be able to not only continue to uphold peace along the border under bilateral agreements and protocols but also begin a new chapter of friendly bilateral relations, the editorial said.

The relations between India and China have been frozen except for trade ties ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area.

The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of corps commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides so far agreed to disengage from four points, namely the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra).

India is pressing the People's Liberation Army to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the border issue remains tense.