15th round of India-China border talks: China hopes that both sides can move forward

15th round of India-China border talks: China hopes that both sides can move forward

China on Wednesday said that the 15th round of military commander-level talks with India on the border issue will be held on 11th March and hoped that both sides can make a further step forward in resolving the remaining friction areas in the eastern Ladakh border. Announcing this at the daily press briefing in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “We hope at the upcoming talks, on the basis of previous meetings, can move forward, further enlarge consensus, narrow differences and work for a solution that is acceptable to both parties.” Mr. Zhao Lijian told the media that “in the last round of talks, the two sides had a candid, in-depth exchange of views on the relevant issues about the west section of the China-India boundary and issued a joint press release.” 
The two sides will hold the next round at the Chushul Moldo meeting point in Ladakh on Friday to end the 22-month standoff at the remaining friction areas, according to Indian officials. The talks till now have resulted in the resolution of issues in the North and South banks of Pangong Tso, Galwan and Gogra areas. Despite a joint statement being issued after the 14th round of border talks that took place on January 12 this year, there was no fresh breakthrough. Recent statements by both sides to find a mutually acceptable solution have been encouraging and positive in nature, they noted. 
Experts, however, observed that even though China has been talking about mutual trust and practical cooperation with India, there was no visible manifestation of China taking any tangible actions in this regard. 
Contrary to it, China fielded a controversial Chinese PLA commander involved in Galwan clashes as a torchbearer at the 2022 Winter Olympics and politicized the Olympic games, forcing India to boycott it at the last moment.

What steps China is taking to resolve the setbacks and develop mutual trust

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that China India relations have “encountered some setbacks in recent years” which don’t serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples even as he stated that differences over the vexed boundary issue and territory should not “interfere with the bigger picture of bilateral cooperation”. Wang expressed the hope that China and India will be “partners for mutual success instead of adversaries of mutual attrition.”
However, on Wednesday, when asked what steps China is taking to enhance the mutual trust and resolve the setbacks, Zhao did not give a clear answer. 
Trying to strike a positive note, he said China and India share broad common interests and huge cooperation potential adding that We both shoulder the historical mission of improving people’s livelihoods and speeding up development. He said the two countries should be partners for mutual success rather than adversaries of mutual attrition. We always believe that China India relations are mature and multi-dimensional, he further said.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi who is also China’s Special Representative on the India-China boundary question along with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, tried to make a positive tone by invoking an Indian proverb which goes like, “help your own brother’s boat across and your own will reach the shore.” We must make sure that our relationship moves forward on the right track bring more benefits to our peoples and make a greater contribution to the region and the world,” he said. 
However, Wang did not say anything on ways to develop mutual trust and avoid misunderstanding in the face of the ongoing border standoff for around the last two years which has seen a historic dip in the bilateral relations.
On Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson again repeated official lines that the boundary issue between both the countries is not the whole of China India relations. We need to put the issues in a proper position in the bilateral relations and properly manage it. We hope the Indian side can work with China to enhance mutual trust, enhance practical cooperation to ensure that bilateral relations can move along the right track so as to deliver greater benefits to the two peoples and make a greater contribution to the region and beyond.
India has been talking with China about a quick disengagement on remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh such as Hot Springs, Depsang, and Demchok. The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

No timeline to resume people-to-people exchanges

To a question on China’s steps to improve people-to-people exchanges between India and China, which has technically stopped for more than one and a half years now, Zhao said considering the coronavirus is still raging, on the basis of pandemic prevention and control, China and India can do more to promote people-to-people exchange and solidify ties between the two sides, either through video call and virtual diplomacy or in a face-to-face manner when the pandemic situation permits. Currently, China has suspended flights and visa facilitation to Indians for over one-and-a-half years. Due to this, over 23,000 Indian medical students studying in Chinese universities and thousands of Indian families are stuck in India and could not return to re-join their colleges and work.
Chinese experts told Prasar Bharati Beijing, this is something that China can do and should do to prevent any further damage to students’ careers and to resume people-to-people interaction and generate goodwill and understanding between the two peoples. China is accepting foreigners from other parts of the globe in fewer numbers but has put an almost full stop to the return of international students (except the US and South Korea) on the pretext of COVID-19. China last month assured Indian Embassy in Beijing that China will work on the early return of Indian students to the country in a coordinated manner and it’s not a political issue. Indian students will not be discriminated against in any manner while deciding on the return of foreign students to China to resume their education, it conveyed to the Indian Embassy.