Dai hopes for golden period in India ties

With the special representative from China making right overtures, India and China began the two-day boundary talks in New Delhi on Monday. HT reports.

With the special representative from China making right overtures, India and China began the two-day boundary talks in New Delhi on Monday.

Chinese state councillor Dai Bingguo, ahead of the talks with national security advisor Shivshankar Menon, spoke of a “a golden period” for Sino-Indian relations.

This is the 15th round of boundary talks between the special representatives of the two countries since 2003. The talks were scheduled for November 2011, but were postponed after India refused to relent to Chinese objections to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s participation in a global Buddhist conclave in Delhi.

National-security-advisor-Shivshankar-Menon-R-greets-Chinese-state-councillor-Dai-Bingguo-in-New-Delhi-HT-Photo-Sunil-Saxena

Menon and Dai are expected to flesh out the details of a pact on the border mechanism. It is expected to be signed on Tuesday. The border mechanism will facilitate real-time contact between the headquarters of both countries in case of incidents along the the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Ahead of the talks, Dai, a close aide of Chinese President Hu Jintao, struck a positive note on the trajectory of India-China relations. He denied any rivalry with New Delhi.

“While working hard to develop itself, China is committed to developing long-term friendship and cooperation with India. It is our genuine hope that India will enjoy prosperity and its people, happiness,” Dai said in an article published ahead of

the talks.

“There does not exist such a thing as China’s attempt to attack India or suppress its development,” he said.