NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remain the “pre-requisite” for normal India-China ties, even as he called for addressing long-standing concerns over market access, trade imbalance and supply chain predictability.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, came as New Delhi and Beijing continue efforts to stabilise bilateral relations following the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Reviewing the trajectory of ties since the October 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Jaishankar said relations had been “gradually normalising”, a process further reinforced by the leaders’ subsequent meeting in Tianjin.
“We believe that a stable and cooperative relationship can best be developed based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity. Such a relationship can make a valuable contribution to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world,” Jaishankar said.
However, he underlined that normalisation ultimately depends on stability along the border.
“Peace and tranquillity in the border areas is obviously the pre-requisite for normal ties. Since October 2024, both sides have engaged to ensure that important objective. This will continue to need our constant attention. Relevant mechanisms in this domain must be given full support and strong encouragement,” he said.
Distinguishing between managing differences and allowing them to escalate, Jaishankar reiterated the understanding reached by the two countries’ leadership.
“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 had agreed that differences should not become disputes. It is the responsibility of diplomacy to properly manage them,” he said.
The Minister welcomed recent confidence-building measures, including the resumption of direct flights, easing of visa arrangements, the restart of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and the revival of border trade.
At the same time, he said important economic issues still required attention.
"Fair market access and a trade balance rank high in that regard. There are also concerns about predictability of supply chains. Facilitating both official and people-to-people exchanges merit our attention," Jaishankar said, adding that both sides should also finalise meetings under various bilateral mechanisms.
Jaishankar also thanked China for supporting India's BRICS chairship before the two Ministers exchanged views on pressing regional and global developments amid what he described as an “extremely complicated” international situation.
