India, China stress border peace as key to rebuilding ties
New Delhi: India and China, on Tuesday, reiterated that peace and tranquillity along their border were vital for the broad development of their relations, repeating their collective commitment to following leadership guidance on this issue, which entails perceiving bilateral trade issues politically and strategically.
In New Delhi, on the sidelines of the BRICS Sherpa meeting, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri conducted the India-China strategic dialogue with Ma Zhaoxu, the Executive Vice Foreign Minister of China. India had just concluded hosting the first-ever BRICS Sherpa meeting, which took place between February 8 and 10.
The range of issues discussed was described by the Ministry of External Affairs to be quite wide. The talks on relations were said to include recent steps to consolidate the relationship, invigorate the engagement process, and think of how to take the relationship forward.
Misri mentioned the renewed Kailash Mansarovar Yatra program and expressed the hope that the scale of the Yatra will increase in the future. Both sides emphasised the need to conclude an updated Air Services Agreement shortly and to keep working towards taking further measures to facilitate visas and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
Multilateral cooperation also dominated, especially in view of India’s chairmanship of BRICS this year. It has also expressed its commitment towards a fruitful BRICS Summit in India and its understanding and respect for Indian ambitions to secure a UN Security Council seat.
The relationship between these two countries has remained strained since the clash in the Galwan area in eastern Ladakh in June 2020, which was the most intense conflict in decades. Since then, tens of thousands of troops have been deployed along the Line of Actual Control, which is heavily militarised.
The impasse, which has resulted in disengagement at some points after several rounds of military and diplomatic talks, is characterised by trust issues. While India wants normalisation to be preceded by peace and tranquillity at the border, China wants normalisation to be backed by stability while continuing to make border claims. The ongoing tension has also impacted the economic and strategic spheres, with India curbing Chinese investments, restricting Chinese mobile applications, and strengthening cooperation with similar-minded countries, such as the grouping constituted by the Quad nations. Overall, bilateral relations remain characterised by limited engagement and cautious dialogue, with the fragile equilibrium along the border continuing to shape and constrain the broader India–China relationship.
