China ready to work with India to resolve border row

NEW DELHI: As India and China pledged to accelerate efforts for settlement of their border dispute, Chinese president Hu Jintao on Wednesday hoped that the boundary will be converted into a “bond of good-neighbourliness and mutually-beneficial co-operation”.

He said settlement of the boundary issue will contribute to peace and stability in the region and China was ready to work with India to “actively seek a fair, just and mutually-acceptable solution through friendly consultation on an equal footing”.

The growth of bilateral ties has made it possible to accelerate the process of settling the border issue, Mr Hu said while delivering a lecture here during which he emphasised that China stood for peace and development not only in the region but all over the world.

The two countries should “step up friendly consultations and work for an early settlement of the boundary issue,” the Chinese president said a day after his talks with prime minister Manmohan Singh, where they decided to accelerate efforts to resolve the vexed issue.

He said the process for early settlement of the boundary issue, which has been left over from the past, represents the shared wish of the people of the two countries and serves their fundamental interest.

“We hope to turn China-India boundary into a bond of good-neighbourliness and mutually-beneficial co-operation,” said Mr Hu, who is on a four-day visit to India since Monday.

In his welcome address, vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said the two countries should work together for all-round development of relations while “showing sensitivity to each other’s concerns and aspirations”.