During the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and announced China's readiness to take actions aimed at reducing tensions on the common border. The Chinese representative said that both sides should promote sustainable peace and tranquility in the border areas.
Qin Gang said that "the two most populous developing countries in the world, China and India, are in a critical period of achieving modernization," and in these conditions should "draw experience and lessons from history, guide bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term point of view, respect each other and... to follow the path of peaceful development and common revival." The Chinese minister added that China is ready to work with India to conduct bilateral consultations and exchanges, enhance dialogue and cooperation in a multilateral framework, as well as to deepen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues.
He also assessed the current situation on the border as "generally stable" and noted that Beijing and New Delhi should take further actions to reduce tensions in accordance with the agreements. "We need to consolidate the results already achieved, strictly adhere to the relevant agreements," Qin Gang said.
The Indian Minister also expressed India's position on relations with China and noted that the countries need to expand and strengthen cooperation "in many areas." Jaishankar expressed hope for continued cooperation between India and China to maintain peace and stability in the border areas through consultations.
The latest round of aggravation of Sino-Indian relations to date occurred in 2020, when clashes between the military took place in the mountainous region of Ladakh on the border of the two countries, which led to losses on both sides. New Delhi and Beijing have pulled heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft into the area. After a series of negotiations at the military and diplomatic levels, the parties began a gradual withdrawal of troops from the border line.
After the 2020 conflict, India and China are taking measures to strengthen control over disputed sections of the border and fix violations. Earlier it was reported that India is actively expanding its military infrastructure in the eastern regions of Ladakh and plans to deploy drones and tracking systems on this section of the border. The Chinese side, in turn, reported on the delivery to the Air Force of the Western Command of the PLA of an upgraded version of the KJ-500 long-range radar detection and control aircraft to "increase situational awareness on the Sino-Indian border."
Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry
