Beijing: China and India have made “positive progress” to resolve the border standoff, with both sides maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels, a senior foreign ministry official said here on Friday.

The foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning’s remarks were a further elaboration of China’s reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement in which he said that ties with Beijing are important for New Delhi and the “prolonged situation” at the borders should be addressed urgently.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Prime Minister Modi expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders.

“China and India are in close communication through diplomatic and military channels to address issues related to the border situation, and have achieved positive progress,” Ms Mao told a media briefing here in response to a question on Modi’s interview with Newsweek.

“China believes that a sound and stable relationship is in the interest of both China and India,” she said.

“We hope that India will work with China to place the boundary question appropriately in bilateral relations and manage it properly, and put the relationship on a sound and steady track,” Ms Mao said.

The relations between India and China have been frozen except for trade ties ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area.

The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of corps commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.

This is the second time in as many days that China has reacted to Modi’s interview.

“It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us,” PM Modi had said in his interview.

“Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world,” he said.

While responding to a question on PM Modi’s interview on Thursday, Ms Mao had said that China had noted the PM’s remarks.

“Sound and stable China-India relations serve the interests of both countries and are conducive to peace and development in the region and beyond,” she said.

On the boundary question, Ms Mao had reiterated China’s oft-repeated stand that it does not represent the entirety of China-India relations, and it should be placed appropriately in bilateral relations and managed properly.

However, India has maintained that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.

Ms Mao said both countries maintain close communication through diplomatic and military channels on handling issues related to the border situation and have made positive progress.

“We hope that India will work with China, approach the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, keep building trust and engage in dialogue and cooperation, and seek to handle differences appropriately to put the relationship on a sound and stable track,” she said.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides so far agreed to disengage from four points, namely the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra).

India is pressing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the border remains tense.