China-India border is stable, says defence minister
Defence Minister Li Shangfu said conditions along the border with India are "stable overall". The remarks from Li came in a statement issued shortly after a meeting on Thursday with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. “China and India have far more common interests than differences,” Li was quoted as saying. “At present, conditions on the China-Indian border are stable overall,” Li said. The two sides should “take a long-term view, put the border issue at an appropriate place in bilateral relations, and promote the normalisation of the border situation as soon as possible,” he said. Singh said improved relations depend on "peace and tranquillity" returning to their frontier disturbed by military tensions, the Indian government said. Li is visiting New Delhi to attend a meeting of the defence chiefs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The group consists of China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have deteriorated since mid-2020, when Chinese and Indian troops clashed on their disputed Himalayan frontier and 24 people were killed. The situation has largely calmed after military and diplomatic talks, but the faceoff continues in pockets along the 3,800-kilometre frontier. (AP & Reuters)