China Urges Settlement of Sino-Indian Problems Through ConsultationChina's top legislator Li Peng said in New Delhi Friday, January 12, that differences and problems between his country and India should by no means become obstacles to the development of their relations and they could absolutely be well resolved through friendly consultations."The mainstream of Sino-Indian relations lies in the common interests and common points of both sides," Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, told Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in their talks here on Friday morning. Li, who arrived here on Thursday for a week-long official goodwill visit to India, called Singh "an old friend" of China's and praised him for "lots of helpful work" he had done for the improvement and development of Sino-Indian ties. He also thanked the Indian Parliament and government for their fine arrangements for his visit. China appreciated Singh's visit to Beijing in June 1999, during which both sides reached the important consensus that China and India are no threat to each other and that they should stick to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Li said. He added that this consensus has helped restore bilateral relations and bring them back to the track of sound development. Describing India as a "major close neighbor" of China's, Li reiterated that it is the Chinese government's unswerving policy to build and develop a lasting and stable good-neighborly relationship with India. "As today's global situation keeps on changing and developing, especially under the circumstances of rapid development of political multipolarization and economic globalization, it has become highly necessary for China and India to further strengthen dialogue and cooperation," Li stressed. On the border issue, Li noted that in 1988 when the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China, both sides reached the important understanding that the border issue should be resolved on the principle of "mutual understanding, mutual accommodation and mutual adjustment." In 1993 and 1996, the two governments also signed two key accords concerning the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border area and confidence-building measures, Li noted, adding that these two accords are being implemented with joint efforts of both sides and positive progress has been made. "The gradual resolution of the Sino-Indian border issue will bring our bilateral ties onto a lasting, steady and sound development track, and will also display to the world that China and India, as the two largest developing nations, can coexist in peace and harmony, seek development hand in hand and become a major force for world peace and development," Li pointed out. Praising Li's current visit as a "major step" in the development of India-China relations, Singh said that as two major Asian countries, India and China should not only take the present situation into account but also have the future in mind in developing their relations. The problems left over by the past can be gradually resolved as long as both sides work hard with good wishes and in an earnest manner, Singh said, adding that the past couple of years have witnessed some active efforts from both sides. Singh said he completely agreed to the consensus reached and the principle decided upon by leaders of both countries in 1988 for resolving the border issue, which Li just mentioned in the talks. Both sides should follow this principle and work hard to this end, he added. Echoing Li's view on Sino-Indian cooperation, Singh said India and China, whose populations together account for one third of the world's total, would surely make greater contribution to the advancement of the mankind if the two countries cooperate with each other. |
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