China says ties with India developing with 'sound momentum'

China on Thursday said its ties with India have been on an upswing recently and both sides have seen new achievements in political cooperation and various other fields.

Beijing said it wants to work with New Delhi to sort out their disputes to keep the bilateral ties on the right track.

"Recently, thanks to the concerted efforts from the two sides, China-India relations have been developing with a sound momentum. We have seen new achievements in political cooperation and various fields," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

He was responding to questions about India's attempt to improve ties with China, including shifting the event of the Dalai Lama, who Beijing calls a "splitist", from New Delhi.

"We attach importance to developing ties with India. We would like to work with India under the guidance of our two leaders, to maintain our exchanges at all levels, enhance our trust and properly manage our differences and ensure that bilateral relations could move forward along the right track," Lu said.

A sort of bonhomie seems to have returned between the two countries whose armies almost came to blows along their disputed border last year.

Both sides have stepped up bilateral talks, with a host of high profile visits lined-up between them.

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan was in India to discuss the yawning trade deficit between the two countries.

India's Defence and External Affairs Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj are due to visit China in April.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in June in China.

(Gaurav Sharma is the IANS correspondent in Beijing. He can be contacted at gaurav.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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