China not mincing words about the downturn in ties with India

NEW DELHI: China is not mincing words about the downturn in relations with India, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that "China-India relations are still in bad shape, which is not in the interest of any country".

Global Times reported these statements made by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Wang referred to the "downturn" more than once during his meet with Jaishankar.

"To prevent border issues from further posing unnecessary interference in bilateral relations, which is already in its downturn, Wang said both sides should alter the work mechanism for border incidents from emergency responses to normalized management," Global Times said.

Wang warned that the two countries should refrain from taking any unilateral action in the sensitive and disputed areas, so as to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment which can lead to the repetition of what happened last year. "Any unilateral action in the sensitive and disputed areas along China-India border should be restrained as last year's incident is already pulling China-India ties to their downturn," Wang said, according to Global Times.

The two militaries have disengaged in the Galwan Valley and the Bangong Lake areas and the border situation has eased since the meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Moscow in September last year.

But China-India relations are still in a bad shape, which is not in the interest of any country, Wang said, as per the report.

It is clear that the responsibility of the border issues last year does not lie with China. China is willing to negotiate with India to seek a solution acceptable to both the countries, Wang said.

The essence of China-India relations is how two large neighbouring developing countries view each other, how they can live in harmony, and how to help each other, Wang said, adding that China's strategic judgment on China-India relations remains unchanged.

The interactions between the countries should mainly be led by cooperation, mutual benefit, and complementarities with healthy competition, avoiding confrontation, Wang said. Jaishankar agreed with Wang on bilateral ties, saying India doesn't and hopefully won't change its strategic judgment over bilateral ties and is willing to work with China to prompt bilateral relationship out of the downturn, the Global Times reported. (IANS)

Also Read: Ladakh situation hitting ties: India tells China

Also Watch: