External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed that 75 percent of disengagement problems with Beijing have been sorted out; however, the two nations “still have some things to do.”
Jaishankar, who is in Geneva, Switzerland, for bilateral meetings, spoke about India’s relations with her neighbour China in an interactive session at the Global Centre for Security Policy, an independent think tank.
“It’s Very Complex”
On a two-day visit to Switzerland, Jaishankar admitted that the two countries have never had an easy relationship. “We did not have an easy relationship in the past. What happened in 2020 violated multiple agreements. The Chinese moved a large number of troops to the Line of Actual Control. We, in response, moved our troops up. Some progress on border talks with China. 75 per cent of disengagement problems are sorted out. We still have some things to do,” Jaishankar was quoted in media reports.
During his conversation with Ambassador Jean-David Levitte at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy on September 12. Jaishankar brought up the clash between the Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in 2020. “It (India-China relations) is a very complex relationship… They had bad periods in history. Both of them are reviving and are rejuvenating in a way… They are the only two countries with more than a billion population. And what happens normally when any country rises is that it has a ripple effect on the neighbourhood. These two countries also have the honour of being each other’s neighbours. So, each one’s rise has a ripple impact. So, if you take this totality, you can understand why I selected a safe expressive word like complex.”
“Economic Relationship Has Been Unfair”
It’s not just the border issue that India-China is facing difficulties but also in other sectors like technology, telecom, and digital. The EAM said, ”I think there are larger issues with respect to India-China. We have a long struggle with the trade issue. The economic relationship with China has been very unfair. It has been very imbalanced that we don’t have market access there. They have much better market access here in India. We have many concerns today in various areas, like technology, telecom, and digital.”
