Both nations have deployed thousands of troops on the high-altitude border since hand-to-hand fighting killed 20 Indians and four Chinese soldiers in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh in June 2020. Talks between senior military officials have made little progress. read more “I have been very sincere in my discussions with the Chinese Foreign Minister, especially in conveying our national feelings,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmaniam Jaisankar told a news conference after a three-hour meeting with Wang Yi. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “The frictions and tensions arising from China’s developments since April 2020 cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between the two neighbors.” In a statement, Wang said China and India should work together to promote peace and stability around the world. “The two sides should … put the differences on the border issue in a proper position in bilateral relations and keep the right direction for the development of bilateral relations,” he said. “China does not pursue so-called ‘monopoly Asia’ and respects India’s traditional role in the region. The whole world will pay attention when China and India work hand in hand.” Jaishankar, a former ambassador to Beijing, said it was at China’s request that India did not announce Wang’s trip before his arrival in the capital late Thursday. Wang met with India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, who also pressed him for de-escalation at the border. It was not immediately clear whether India offered to withdraw its troops if China did. In a statement on Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Wang called for the border issue to be moved from a state of emergency to normal management as soon as possible. They both agreed to speed up the resolution of outstanding issues, to manage the situation on the ground properly and to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, he added. Wang and Jaishankar also discussed their nations’ approaches to countering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We both agreed on the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomacy,” Jaisankar said. India and China each consider Russia a friend and have rejected calls from the West to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special military operation.” Wang, who visited Pakistan and Afghanistan earlier this week, is scheduled to fly to Nepal in the Himalayas later Friday during a tornado tour in South Asia, where China is trying to bolster its influence. Prior to his arrival, Wang reprimanded India for remarks to Pakistan about the disputed Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region that is all partially but fully asserted, an issue on which China has generally supported close its ally, Pakistan. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Krishna N. Das, Sanjeev Miglani, Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing. Additional references by CK Nayak. Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Philippa Fletcher and Lincoln Feast Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
