China, India must learn lessons from border incident: Chinese FM

China and India must learn lessons from the Dong Lang (Doklam) incident, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the 15th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers from China, Russia and India in New Delhi, India on Monday, December 11, 2017. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

Wang made the remarks on Monday while meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the 15th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers from China, Russia and India.

Wang said thanks to efforts from both sides, the development of China-India relations in 2017 has kept the momentum but it is not satisfactory.

The bilateral ties went through a serious test after Indian border troops illegally trespassed into Chinese territory in June, said Wang, adding although the standoff ended eventually through diplomatic means more than two months later, lessons must be learned and efforts must be made to avoid such an incident in the future.

Leaders from both countries have shared the view that China and India should regard each other's development as opportunities rather than challenges, and China and India are partners rather than rivals, thus the two sides should sincerely implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, Wang noted.

While enhancing strategic communication at all levels, restoring dialogue mechanisms that have been established and deepening pragmatic cooperation in all fields, both sides should also properly manage differences so as to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, the Chinese foreign minister stressed.

For her part, Swaraj said her country has always attached great importance to developing ties with China and regards ties with China as an important part of its foreign policies.

As two big developing countries, the India-China relations have great influence on the region and the world, she said.

Her country holds the view that India and China share more common grounds than differences, thus the two sides should enhance strategic communication, promote strategic mutual trust so as to prevent differences from evolving into disputes and avoid disputes deteriorating into conflicts, she noted.

While India is willing to restore all bilateral mechanisms and arrangements and push forward cooperation between the two countries in all fields, it is also committed to properly managing differences and working together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, Swaraj added.