BEIJING: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed thatChina has always been committed to maintaining stability along theChina-India border and will not be the first to complicate or escalate thesituation.
During his visit to France, Wang has delivered a speech at the FrenchInstitute of International Relations and answered questions aboutChina-India ties, saying China is ready to manage all kinds of issuesthrough dialogue with India, Global Times reported on Tuesday.
“China pursues a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship. We hope tolive in long-term stability and friendship with all our neighbors,” saidWang, noting that China has more neighbors than any other country in theworld and their long history of exchanges has always resulted in problemsof one kind or another.
China is ready to work with its neighbors to resolve issues left over fromhistory through friendly consultation in the spirit of building friendshipand partnership, Wang said.With regard to the recent China-India border dispute, he said that Chinahas always been committed to maintaining stability along the China-Indiaborder and will not be the first to complicate or escalate the situation.
The boundary between China and India has not yet been demarcated, so therehave been problems. China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty andterritorial integrity, and “we are ready to manage all kinds of issuesthrough dialogue with the Indian side,” he added.
In another development, China’s Western Theatre Command said that Indiantroops once again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control near thesouth bank of the Pangong Lake and Reqin mountain pass on Monday, a blatantprovocative move that seriously infringed on China’s territorialsovereignty, and undermined peace and stability in the China-India borderarea.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday said Chinese border troops havealways strictly observed the Line of Actual Control and have never crossedthe line. The border troops of the two countries have been in communicationover territory issues.
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Wang said leaders of the two neighboring countries have met many times andreached important consensus.
Both sides agreed that bilateral cooperation outweighs differences andcommon interests outweigh conflicts. Differences should be properly managedand, in particular, differences should not escalate into conflicts.
China is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with Indiato help it speed up its development, Wang said.
“Both China and India are major developing countries, and we should jointlysafeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries onthe international stage and create a broader space for the development ofemerging economies,” he noted.
“If both China and India can develop, the 2.7 billion people in the twocountries will move towards modernization together, which will be aspectacular sight that is unprecedented in the cause of human progress. Ihope India can see and deal with problems from that perspective,” Wang said.
