Avoiding trade curbs vital for normalisation of ties, India tells China

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India and China must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalise their relationship, India’s foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday.

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Wang Yi in Beijing during his first trip to the country since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back.

“Good progress” made by the countries in the past nine months for normalisation of relations is a result of the resolution of friction along their border, Jaishankar told Wang.

India and China share a 3,800-kilometre border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. They fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962, and talks over the decades to settle the border dispute have made slow progress.

Last month, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart that the two countries should seek a “permanent solution” to the border dispute, seen as a new push by New Delhi for a conclusive outcome.

“It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar said, adding that it was also critical that restrictive trade measures and roadblocks be avoided to foster mutually beneficial cooperation.

The minister was speaking against the backdrop of Beijing’s restrictions in recent months on supplies of critical minerals such as rare earth magnets and machinery for the manufacturing of high-tech goods.

India holds the world’s fifth-largest rare earth reserves, but its domestic output remains underdeveloped.

There was no immediate Chinese readout of the talks between Jaishankar and Wang.

Jaishankar, who is in China to attend the meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier in the day, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

India and China should steadily advance practical cooperation and respect each other’s concerns, Han told Jaishankar, Xinhua said.