New Delhi: A day after India said it has reached an agreement with China on the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has been reported to have confirmed that talks have progressed.
The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid, reported spokesperson Lin Jian as having said that India and China have “reached a solution on relevant matters.”
China is going to work with India to implement the solution plan, Lin also said.
The newspaper has his full response when asked to react to India’s announcement as such:
“China and India have maintained close communication through diplomatic and military channels regarding border-related issues. Currently, the two sides have reached a solution on the relevant matters, which China views positively. In the next phase, China will work with India to effectively implement the solution plan.”
A day ago, foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that an agreement had been reached on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border.
Later in the day, Union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar stated that “the disengagement process has been completed” for the four-year-long military stand-off.
On the heels of these announcements, there is strong speculation of a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit at Kazan in Russia. The summit starts today and will end tomorrow.
To PTI’s question on whether this meeting will take place, Lin said, “We will keep you posted if anything comes up.”