Find mutually acceptable solution to border row: Wang Yi

Beijing, July 15

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Jakarta said both countries should find a mutually acceptable solution to the border problem without letting “specific issues” define the overall relationship.

India has been locked in a military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh for over three years, with Jaishankar terming it the most complex challenge in his long diplomatic career.

Jaishankar has also made it clear to China that until there is peace and tranquillity in border areas, the relationship between the two countries cannot progress.

Yi and Jaishankar met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta on Friday. Yi, a former Chinese Foreign Minister, attended the ASEAN meeting in Jakarta as incumbent Foreign Minister Qin Gang is unwell.

During the meeting, Yi said he hoped the Indian side would meet China halfway and find a solution to the border issue that was acceptable to both sides, an official statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry here on Saturday quoted him as saying at the meeting with Jaishankar. “We should focus our energy and resources on each other’s development, improving people’s livelihood and accelerating revitalisation without letting specific issues define the overall relationship,” the statement quoted Yi as saying.

On his meeting with Yi, Jaishankar said on Twitter that he discussed outstanding issues related to peace and tranquillity in the border areas. Yi also said Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi had reached an important consensus on stabilising the China-India relations.