Sino-india border talks conclude

On Saturday, China and India wrapped up the 13th round of talks to resolve their long disputed border. The two-day meeting aimed to narrow the scope of disagreement between the two nations.

During the meeting, the two sides made a commitment to maintain their strategic and cooperative partnership. The spokesman for the Chinese delegation expressed his satisfaction with the consensus that was reached. And he pledged that China will continue working with India to enhance bilateral ties.

Chinese delegation spokesman Mao Zhaoxu said, "China maintains that the two countries should aim high so as to push forward the development of ties. We should uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, boost strategic trust and expand areas of mutual interest and cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels. Both sides need to enhance people-to-people exchanges to deepen mutual understanding. As for unresolved historical issues, we should handle them through peaceful negotiations and friendly consultations to seek fair and reasonable solutions acceptable for both sides."

China and India share a border of more than four thousand kilometers along the Himalayan mountain range.

The disputed territory in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region is a result of the "McMahon Line", drawn by the British colonial rulers in India in the early 20th century. But the Chinese government has never admitted the legality of the "McMahon Line".

China and India set up a special forum in 2003 to allow for regular meetings between representatives from both governments. Both sides agreed on a three step process to resolve the border issue.

China and India completed the first step in 2005. Now the boundary talks focus mainly on setting up a framework for tackling the border issue.