IndiaPost.com - India, China hold boundary talks

BEIJING: After a year-long hiatus, India and China held a fresh round of boundary talks in Beijing saying the two countries must maintain peace and tranquility along the border to help in a speedy resolution of the protracted problem.

"Both should maintain peace and tranquility in the border area before the boundary issue is resolved," Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with India's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan here at the ornate Great Hall of the People. Narayanan, who is heading the Indian delegation at the talks, said New Delhi also hoped to realize the consensus by the leaders of the two countries to settle the vexed boundary issue at an early date.

The new round of boundary talks is being held amid some tension in bilateral ties in the wake of attempts by China to block a consensus on the India-specific waiver at the NSG meet in Vienna earlier this month. Beijing's stand at the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) came as a rude shock to New Delhi, which conveyed its unhappiness to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during his visit to New Delhi recently.

China maintains it played a positive role at the crucial NSG meet. Xi hoped the framework for the resolution of the boundary issue will be "fair and reasonable" and worked out through equal consultation and friendly dialogue and accepted by both the countries. Xi said the achievement made during the boundary meeting would benefit both sides and increase the mutually strategic trust, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"The two sides should view the bilateral ties with strategic and long-term perspective, and expand the common ground and properly handle the disputes so as to push forward the long-term and stable relations," the Chinese Vice President told Narayanan. Xi, who is tipped to succeed Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2012, pledged China was committed to developing the strategic and cooperative partnership of peace and prosperity with India, stressing Sino-Indian friendly relations would benefit both, Asia and the world as a whole. Narayanan said India attached importance to ties with China and would promote the relationship, the report said.