India, China begin talks on border dispute

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Chinese and Indian officials have met in New Delhi to discuss the border issue. The two Asian powers are looking for ways to maintain good relations dispite hardening claims over their disputed border.

Chinese States Councilor Dai Bingguo and India's National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan resumed the talks on Friday after a year's gap. The two-day talks are focusing on narrowing down differences along their Himalayan border.

But unlike previous talks, the" Rising China" spector has been raised, and India has deployed some military in the disputed areas.

The China-India border conflict began in June, 1962. The cause of the war was a dispute over the sovereignty of the widely-separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions. India further claims a border that runs along the highest ridge of the Himalayas, but is unsupported by the McMahon Line drawn soouth of that ridge. China holds the highest ridge is traditionally part of Tibet since ancient times.

China's State Councillor Dai Bingguo (L) and India's National Security  Adviser M. K. Narayanan arrive for their plenary delegation level  talks in New Delhi August 7, 2009.

The border conflict interrupts the healthy development of relations between the two countries.

In July 1992, border trade resumed after a hiatus of more than 30 years. Consulates also reopened in Mumbai and Shanghai in December of that year.

A year later, in September of 1993, China and India signed the agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Area.

In 2005, the two sides agreed on a set of political principles during the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to New Delhi. It guided both sides in the task of finding a mutually satisfactory solution.

In April, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian counterpart Singh a joint statement signed by . China and India announced the establishment of their strategic partnership for peace and prosperity.