China and India waged a brief border war in 1962 (show)
New Delhi:
China on Thursday warned that a “forced decoupling” of its economy from India, following a clash in the Galwan Valley, eastern Ladakh, last month, in which 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty, would harm both countries. The Chinese ambassador said that China was not a strategic threat to India and that “the general structure according to which we cannot live without each other remains unchanged”.
The statement came after recent central government moves to ban Chinese candidacies, even as the de facto border, the real line of control, remains strained.
“China advocates win-win cooperation and opposes a zero-sum game,” Ambassador Sun Weidong wrote on Twitter.
“Our economies are very complementary, intertwined and interdependent. Forced decoupling goes against the trend and will only lead to a ‘lose-lose’ outcome,” he added.
Officials say Chinese troops have entered Indian territory in the remote western region. China, however, says it has not violated the ACL.
The Foreign Office said in an online briefing that a troop disengagement process agreed to by both sides has not yet been completed and another round of commanders-level talks will take place shortly.
“We hope that the Chinese side will sincerely work with us for full disengagement and de-escalation and the full restoration of peace and tranquility in border areas as soon as possible,” spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
Diplomatic and military officials from neighbors with nuclear weapons met regularly to defuse the stalemate after the June 15 clash in the Galwan Valley, in which more than 40 Chinese soldiers also died.
Earlier this month, China and India began the disengagement process, removing troops from the line of effective control.
This was after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had a telephone conversation, agreed that the two sides should “strictly respect and observe” the effective line of control.
Sources told GalacticGaming that Chinese troops are still present in some areas.
China and India waged a brief border war in 1962.
