Chinese envoy to India Sun Weidong on Thursday suggested that if relations between the two countries have to move forward, they should “straighten views on several key issues”. He said China was committed to peaceful development and did not present a “strategic threat” to India.
Invisible virus rather than China is the threat. It is short-sighted & harmful to deny long history of peaceful co-existence between #China & #India & portray our friendly neighbor for thousands of years as opponent & strategic threat due to temporary differences & difficulties.
— Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) July 30, 2020
Sharing his remarks made at a webinar on China-India Relations at the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi, the diplomat said there was no change in the basic judgement of his country.
“Our basic national conditions as the two largest developing neighbours remain unchanged. Our orientation of being partners, friendly cooperation and common development remain unchanged. The general structure, that we can't live without each other, remains unchanged,” noted Weidong.
A violent altercation between the armies of the two countries on 15 June was the culmination of nearly two months of Chinese troop movement closer to the de facto border, Line of Actual Control (LAC) near the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. New Delhi claimed People’s Liberation Army troops even crossed into territory under its control. Beijing fired similar accusations at the Indian side.
The envoy suggested that both the sides should grasp the fundamental interests of each other and their people, stick to friendly cooperation and “properly handle differences to bring bilateral relations back to a normal track.”
Weidong said China firmly upholds its sovereignty, and would never engage in aggression or expansion.
“We have never been aggressive and pursued own development at the expense of other countries,” he asserted.
New Delhi and Beijing held Army Commander-level talks as well as diplomatic discussions to diffuse the tension along the border. While the Chinese army has withdrawn from certain friction points, it has yet to vacate the Pangong Tso area.
India and China share a long border, which passes through land in most regions, but in Pangong Tso in Eastern Ladakh, it passes through a lake. India controls the western portion of the 45-km long lake, while the rest is under Chinese control. Most of the clashes between the two countries have taken place in the Galwan Valley.
