India, China Begin Border TalksA fresh round of border talks between China and India started here Friday with the beginning of the 12th session of the India-China Joint Working Group on the Boundary Question (JWG-XII).The Chinese and Indian delegations to the current JWG session, which will last for two days, are headed by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang and Indian Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh respectively. Besides discussing boundary-related issues, the two sides will also review recent developments in bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues, an Indian External Affairs Ministry press release said. The last session of the JWG was held in Beijing in April 1999. On Friday afternoon, Yang also had a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, during which the two sides had a "friendly and candid" talk, sources with the Chinese delegation said. Singh was quoted as saying that as two major nations in the world with a history of ancient civilization, India and China shoulder grave responsibility, not only to their own peoples, but also to the entire humanity. Despite some differences between the two countries, both sides should make efforts to promote their cooperation in various fields, Singh said, adding that the Indian side will continue to work for the improvement and further development of India-China relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Yang pointed to the fact that it is a major component of China's foreign policy to actively develop a goodneighborly, friendly and cooperative relationship with India, an important neighbor of China's. "A normal and friendly Sino-Indian relationship is not only in the fundamental interest of people of both countries, but also conducive to the promotion of peace, stability and development in Asia and the whole world," said Yang. The forthcoming state visit to China by Indian President K. R. Narayanan will definitely lay a fine and solid foundation for the further development of Sino-Indian relations in the new century, he stressed. |
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