The Chinese envoy underlined how the two nations are fighting the scourge of Covid-19 together and urged the youth to view each favourably.

he two nations pose no threat to each other, stressed Chinese envoy in India Sun Weidong on Wednesday amid face-off between New Delhi and Beijing over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector recently. The envoy further stressed that any “differences” can be solved through communication.

“We should never let differences overshadow our relations. We should resolve differences through communication,” envoy Sun Weidong was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The Chinese envoy underlined how the two nations are fighting the scourge of Covid-19 together and urged the youth to view each other favourably.

“China and India are fighting together against Covid-19 and we have an important task to consolidate relations. Our youth should realise the relation between China and India, the two countries are opportunities for each other and pose no threat,” Weidong was quoted again by ANI.

The external affairs ministry said last week the Indian side remained firmly committed to the common objective of maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas, as this is an essential prerequisite to further development of India-China relations.

On Tuesday, India, officials familiar with developments said, won’t allow any alteration of the status quo on the LAC and the build-up of Chinese troops will be faced with “strength and restraint”.

In many ways, India’s position is a reiteration of the stance it adopted during the 73-day standoff at Doklam in 2017, when Indian troops dug in and stood their ground in the face of a rapid mobilisation by the Chinese side.

PM Modi also met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat last evening to assess the situation along the LAC amid a tense standoff between thousands of Indian and Chinese troops, especially Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh.

HT was the first to report on May 10 about tensions flaring between India and China in north Sikkim, where 150 soldiers were involved in a tense clash a day earlier. Four Indian and seven Chinese soldiers were injured at Naku La during the confrontation.

Around 250 soldiers from the two sides also clashed near Pangong Lake on the night of May 5-6, with the scuffle leaving scores injured. While an immediate flare-up was avoided as both armies stuck to protocols to resolve the situation, tensions spread to other pockets along the LAC.