New Delhi and Beijing have resolved to improve relations amid an ongoing border dispute
The foreign ministers of India and China have spoken in favor of stabilizing ties at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos.
“It is hoped that China and India will work in the same direction and explore how the neighbouring countries can get along,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after speaking with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday.
Wang said China-India relations have an important impact beyond just the two nations, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “It is in the interests of both sides to get China-India relations back on track,” he stressed.
Earlier this month, the two diplomats met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, where they agreed to “redouble efforts through diplomatic and military channels” to find an “early resolution” to long-standing border disputes.
Ties between the two powerful neighbors soured in 2020, when troops clashed in the disputed Galwan Valley, resulting in casualties on both sides. Since then, there have been over a dozen of rounds of talks aimed at resolving the dispute.
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