Beijing:

China and India have made “huge positive progress” in resolving the border standoff and the two sides have maintained close communication, a senior foreign ministry official said here on Friday.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s speech further elaborated on China’s reaction to the recent statement issued by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi said in a statement that relations with Beijing were important to New Delhi and that the “long-standing situation” at the border should be resolved urgently.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Prime Minister Modi expressed the hope that through active and constructive bilateral contacts at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries can restore and maintain peace and tranquility on the border.

In response to the Prime Minister’s question, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Zedong said: “As for the border issue, I can tell you that China and India are maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels and have made positive progress.” Modi was interviewed.

“We also believe that healthy China-India relations serve the interests of both countries,” she said.

Mao Zedong said that China hopes that India and China will meet each other halfway, properly manage differences, and promote the development of bilateral relations along a healthy and stable track.

This is the second time in as many days that China has reacted to Prime Minister Modi’s interview.

“I think we need to urgently address the long-term situation at the border between the two countries so that the anomalies in the bilateral interaction can be put behind us,” Prime Minister Modi said in an interview.

“Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important not only for our two countries but for the entire region and the world,” he said.

In response to a question about Prime Minister Modi’s interview on Thursday, Mao Zedong said that China has taken note of Prime Minister Modi’s remarks.

She said that healthy and stable China-India relations are in the interests of both countries and are also conducive to regional and world peace and development.

On the boundary issue, Mao Zedong reiterated China’s repeatedly reiterated position that “it does not represent the entirety of Sino-Indian relations and should be placed at an appropriate position in bilateral relations and properly handled.”

But India insists that as long as the border situation remains abnormal, India-China relations cannot return to normal.

Mao Zedong said that the two countries have maintained close communication on handling the border situation through diplomatic and military channels and have made positive progress.

It is hoped that India will work with China to view bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, continuously enhance mutual trust, carry out dialogue and cooperation, properly handle differences, and push bilateral relations onto a healthy and stable track. ,” she says.

Relations between India and China, except trade relations, have been frozen since May 5, 2020, when violent clashes in the Pangong Tso (Lake) area led to a border standoff in eastern Ladakh.

So far, the two sides have held 21 rounds of military commander-level talks to resolve the deadlock.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides have agreed to disengage from four locations: Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Hot Spring, and Jananda Ban.

India is urging the People’s Liberation Army to withdraw troops from the Depsang and Demchok areas, insisting that relations with China cannot return to normal as long as tensions along the border remain tense.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)