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China outlines norms for border talks with India

By P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE June 17. Noting that peace and stability have prevailed along the Sino-Indian border in recent years, China today spelt out norms for further talks with India on the bilateral border dispute. The amplification of China's position by its Foreign Ministry serves as a marker for the talks that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is expected to have with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, and other leaders in Beijing next week.

China identified "equality, mutual understanding and accommodation'' as the basis for the "principles of consultations'' that could lead to "a fair solution'' of the border problem with India.

At a press conference in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, confirmed that the two sides were expected to discuss the border issue during Mr. Vajpayee's imminent official visit to China, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in a decade.

Without dwelling on the recent perceptional differences between the two countries on the exchange of maps concerning the western sector of the disputed border, Mr. Liu said that a fair settlement of the overall boundary issue could be fashioned as long as India and China followed the principles of consultations based on equality, mutual understanding and accommodation.

As for a final solution, he expressed the hope that "methods'' to resolve the border question could be found through the joint efforts of China and India. On the feasibility of joint efforts, he underlined that the two sides were engaged in making concerted moves in recent years to sustain peace and stability along the frontier.

The border was peaceful at present, he pointed out. Emphasising that the Chinese side felt "joyous'' over the robust growth of the Sino-Indian relationship in recent years, the spokesman expressed his conviction that the upward thrust in the present boost-phase could be maintained so long as the two countries "adhere to the five principles of peaceful coexistence, increase mutual trust, expand common consensus and strengthen cooperation''.

As two of the world's largest developing countries, China and India knew that friendly ties between them would be in the fundamental interest of their people, besides being promotive of regional and global peace and stability. China, for its part, Mr. Liu said, was willing to make efforts in conjunction with India to strengthen cooperation in various fields and ``raise the constructive partnership to a new level''. He cited in particular the recent trends in bilateral economic and trade ties, besides the Sino-Indian cooperation on certain aspects of current international affairs.

Echoing these sentiments, authoritative Chinese sources have told this correspondent that the overall ambience for seizing the present moment of opportunity was good, despite the recent stand that Beijing took about the unacceptability of certain maps concerning the western sector of the border.

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