Jaishankar highlighted that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border remains a key condition for improving bilateral ties. He said both sides have been engaged since October 2024 to ensure stability in border areas, and existing mechanisms must continue to receive support…reports Asian Lite News
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said India-China relations have been gradually moving towards normalisation since the 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, while stressing the need for fair market access and a balanced trade relationship between the two countries.
Addressing the opening remarks at his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila, held on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN engagements in the Philippines, Jaishankar said a stable and cooperative relationship between the two neighbours should be built on the principles of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.
“Since the meeting of our leaders in Kazan in 2024, relations between India and China have been gradually normalising. This direction was further affirmed when they met in Tianjin last August,” Jaishankar said.
He added that a constructive India-China relationship could contribute significantly to a more balanced and multipolar Asia and world.
“We believe that a stable and cooperative relationship can best be developed on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity. Such a relationship can make a valuable contribution to a multipolar ASEAN and a multipolar world,” he said.
Jaishankar highlighted that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border remains a key condition for improving bilateral ties. He said both sides have been engaged since October 2024 to ensure stability in border areas, and existing mechanisms must continue to receive support.
“Peace and tranquillity in the border areas is obviously the prerequisite for normal ties. Since October 2024, both sides have engaged to ensure that important objective. This will continue to need our constant attention,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister said India and China, as two major neighbouring nations, would naturally have differences in their interests, but diplomacy must ensure that these differences do not turn into disputes.
“It is natural that as two large and important nations, and that too proximate neighbours, India and China would have their own particular interests. That is why our leaders agreed that differences should not become disputes. It is the responsibility of diplomacy to properly manage them,” he said.
Jaishankar also appreciated China’s support for BRICS activities and initiatives during India’s presidency of the grouping.
He welcomed several recent steps aimed at restoring normal engagement between the two countries, including the resumption of direct flights, updating of visa arrangements, restarting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and the revival of border trade.
“The steps to normalisation taken over the last few months must be welcomed. This includes the resumption of direct flights, updating the visa regime, restarting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and recommencing border trade,” he said.
However, Jaishankar underlined that important economic issues still require attention, particularly fair market access, trade imbalance and supply chain stability.
“Fair market access and trade balance rank high in that regard. There are also concerns about the predictability of supply chains,” he said.
He called for greater facilitation of official and people-to-people exchanges and urged both sides to agree on meetings of various bilateral mechanisms and platforms based on mutual priorities.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Wang Yi comes amid efforts by India and China to cautiously rebuild engagement after years of strained ties following the 2020 eastern Ladakh border standoff. While diplomatic and military-level discussions have continued, both countries have been working towards restoring confidence and expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
