(Bloomberg) -- China signaled it reached a deal with India on easing border tensions, potentially ending a four-year border stalemate that has frayed relations between the Asian giants.
“The two sides have reached resolutions on relevant matters, which China speaks highly of,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, adding that the two sides had been “in close communication through diplomatic and military channels” on the issue.
“Going forward, China will continue to work with India to implement these resolutions,” Lin said, without going into detail on what exactly was agreed. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s minister of external affairs, said Monday that a deal had been reached to allow for regular patrols along the 3,488-kilometer (2,167 mile) Himalayan border separating the nations.
Ending the dispute may open the door to the first bilateral meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in nearly two years — possibly at the BRICS summit this week in Russia. While Xi and Modi met on the sidelines of the BRICS conclave in Johannesburg last year, they haven’t held formal bilateral talks since the Group of 20 leaders’ meeting in Bali in late 2022.
Relations between China and India have been frozen since June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the border left at least 20 Indians and an unknown number of Chinese dead.
In response, both sides deployed thousands of troops and moved fighter jets, artillery and missiles closer to the border. A border patrol agreement would be the first step toward moving soldiers away and allowing normal patrols to take place.
Jaishankar had added that the military “disengagement process with China you can say is completed,” and the agreement means the border situation returns to what it was some four years ago.
“It creates a basis for peace and tranquility in the border areas, which should be and was there before 2020,” he said. “That was our major concern because we always said that if you disturb peace and tranquility, how do expect the rest of the relationship to go forward.”
Following the 2020 clashes, India imposed strict rules on Chinese businesses seeking to invest in the country, banned hundreds of Chinese apps and slowed visa approvals.
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