In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, the Indian foreign minister has called for “restrictive trade measures” to be avoided.
Relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been ‘gradually moving’ in a positive direction over the last nine months, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday.
Jaishankar, who is in China for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), told Wang that the progress was a result of resolving tensions along the border and the ability to maintain peace there.
“Since our leaders’ meeting in Kazan in October 2024, the India-China relationship has been gradually moving in a positive direction,” the Indian Foreign Minister said. “Our responsibility is to maintain that momentum.”
Talks held between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan brought about a thaw in relations between the world’s two most populous countries, which had been strained since a 2020 border clash in the Himalayas claimed the lives of soldiers on both sides.
In Beijing on Monday, Jaishankar called on the countries to continue to build their ties. “We have also earlier agreed that differences should not become disputes, nor should competition ever become conflict,” he said. “On this foundation, we can now continue to develop our ties along a positive trajectory.”
The foreign minister, who thanked China for allowing Indian pilgrims to visit holy sites in Tibet after a gap of five years, said “measures towards normalizing our people-to-people exchanges” could “foster mutually-beneficial cooperation.”
He also called for “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” to be avoided, in an apparent reference to China’s decision to restrict the export of fertilizers and rare earth magnets to India.
Earlier on Monday, Jaishankar held talks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng where the Indian minister called for a “continued normalization” of ties between the countries.
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