China and India should view their relations from a strategic perspective, strengthen communication and resolve differences to ensure that bilateral ties move forward on a healthy and stable track, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, made the remarks when meeting with India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.
Wang said China is ready to explore the right way for the two neighboring countries to get along, abiding by the series of important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, with mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual trust, mutual care and mutual success.
The two sides should properly handle and control the situation in the border areas on the one hand, and actively resume normal exchanges on the other, so as to reinforce and work with each other in the same direction, said Wang.
"It is normal for neighboring countries to have some differences, but we should not let these differences affect our mutual strategic understanding, still less affect the overall situation of bilateral relations. We should view and develop China-India relations from a strategic height. We should grasp the important consensus that China and India are each other's development opportunities rather than threats, strengthen communication and properly handle differences to ensure that the bilateral relations will move forward on a sound and stable track," said Wang.
The Chinese foreign minister urged the two sides to jointly oppose unilateral hegemony and confrontation, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries as they are both Global South countries.
Jaishankar said that India and China share a wide range of common interests, and the development of stable and predictable bilateral ties is in the interest of both sides and will also benefit the region and the world.
He expressed the hope to work together with China to turn a new page in India-China relations as soon as possible and constructively resolve specific differences.
"India and China, we share many common developmental challenges. We are also immediate neighbors, and we have many regional interests which depend very much on our ability to ensure stability and predictability in our relationship. It is important that between us, we shape the environment by working together wherever possible instead of letting the environment shape us," said Jaishankar.
The two foreign ministers agreed to work towards the stabilization of the border area and to hold a new round of consultations on the border issue at an early date.
Chinese, Indian FMs meet on sidelines of SCO Summit in Astana
Chinese, Indian FMs meet on sidelines of SCO Summit in Astana
