Need time to resolve border disputes with India: China

New Delhi: Border disputes between India and China can be resolved through dialogue but it will require time, Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng said today. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Lee also mentioned China’s plan to invest $20 billion in various infrastructure and development projects in India in next five years. On border dispute, Lee said China was confident of finding a mutually acceptable solution to it. [caption id=“attachment_1787675” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ambassador of China to India, Le Yucheng. Image courtesy PIB [/caption] “We will proceed to solve these issues through dialogues, though negotiations. We just need time to solve them. We are confident that we can find our way out with joint efforts from both the sides,” he told reporters when asked about reports of incursion by Chinese Army in Pangong lake in the higher reaches of Ladakh. Emphasising the need to expand trade cooperation, he identified power sector as an important sector where two countries can cooperate. “India can also enjoy 24x7 power supply with cooperation from Chinese enterprises.” “While a Chinese IT company has already created 5000 more jobs in India, various sectors including agriculture will also find better access to Chinese market. India can also expect an increase in revenue by receiving 5 million outbound Chinese tourists,” he said. The Chinese Ambassador said both the countries have the wisdom to reach and maintain strategic partnership. Lee was chairing a round table discussion on APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) as APEC 2014 Economic Leaders’ Week began in Beijing today. He said that the new route to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra which China had recently agreed to open is expected to be operational by next year. The Ambassador also condemned the killings in the recent blast on Wagah border. “We strongly condemn all the terrorist attacks. China is also a victim of terrorism, so we condemn such actions wherever they have come from and we also express our sorrows,” he said. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran said that though India welcomes the economic cooperation from China, it is also concerned about the security situation in the region. “We have to also ensure that at the same time the asymmetry between the economic and security side is also addressed. “We are seeing certain tensions arising in the regions. May be countries in the region blame somebody else for the tension but the fact is if these tensions have to be resolved the countries of the regions have to resolve them,” he said, adding, “one of the component of the security situation is maritime sphere.” “As far as border disputes are concerned, this issue lingering in the background does have some constraint in taking the relationship between the two countries forward. The sooner we can get over this constraint the better it is,” Saran said. PTI