Chinese FM Wang Yi: Ready to work with India for growth of ties

New Delhi, December 25

China is ready to work with India for “steady and sound growth’’ of bilateral ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said today. “China and India have maintained communication through diplomatic and military-to-military channels, and both countries are committed to upholding stability in the border areas,” he said in a video address on the international situation at a symposium in Beijing.

India to deploy ‘Pralay’ along borders

India’s Defence Ministry has cleared the procurement of 120 Pralay ballistic missiles for deployment along the borders with China and Pakistan. The missiles can hit targets from 150 to 500 km and are extremely difficult to intercept. A high-level meeting of the Defence Ministry cleared the acquisition, senior defence sources said. ANI

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In the context of India, he cited the Quad (India, the US, Australia and Japan) as a symbol of “bloc confrontation” and the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as the “most influential” platform for South-South cooperation.

Wang’s remarks come a fortnight after the border clash in the Tawang sector of Arunachal on December 9 in which soldiers from both sides were injured. Corps Commanders of the two countries met on December 20 to ensure “security and stability on the ground.”

In his address, Wang briefly touched on Sino-India ties and spoke more on China’s problems with the US and the upswing in its ties with Russia. On Pakistan, he said the two countries had “continued to firmly support each other’’.

Wang will soon emerge more powerful when China holds the National People’s Congress. Ex-Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi has been dropped from the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.