China and India's special representatives on the boundary question held the 23rd meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, with the two sides holding in-depth and constructive discussions on the China-India border issue and bilateral relations.
The meeting between Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and India's Special Representative and National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval, marked the first high-level talks between the two countries on the issue in five years.
Wang said the healthy and steady development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interest of more than 2.8 billion people in both countries.
Both sides should take stock of their past experiences, look toward the future, and pursue win-win cooperation, place the border issue in the appropriate context of bilateral relations, jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas and work towards restoring China-India relations to a healthy and stable development trajectory as soon as possible, Wang said.
For his part, Doval said that through the joint efforts of both sides over the past five years, issues over the border areas have been properly addressed, which is of significant importance.
Doval said India is ready to maintain effective communication with China in a pragmatic manner and will continue to accumulate conditions for the eventual resolution of the border issue, he added.
Special representatives' meeting on China-India boundary question held in Beijing
A Chinese mainland official called for active exchange and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, when meeting with guests from Taiwan on Wednesday.
Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, and representatives of guests from Taiwan in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Song conveyed greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to the guests, who are in Harbin to attend a cross-Strait youth snow and ice festival.
He called on people on both sides of the Strait -- all of whom are Chinese -- to prioritize the future of the country and the interests of the nation, uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and firmly oppose Taiwan separatism and external interference.
He also urged people to work together to improve cross-Strait relations, maintain peace and stability in the Strait, and pursue national rejuvenation.
Expressing his gratitude for Xi's greetings, Ma said that people on both sides of the Strait -- all of whom are members of the Chinese nation -- should uphold the 1992 Consensus, oppose Taiwan separatism, expand exchange and cooperation, and work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.
Ma is leading a delegation of Taiwan youth to visit the Chinese mainland from Dec 18 to 26. They will participate in an ice-themed event in Harbin, then will travel to Sichuan Province in the southwest to experience traditional Chinese culture.
This is Ma's second trip to the mainland this year and his third within two years.
Mainland official meets former Taiwan leader, calling for active cross-Strait exchange, cooperation
