A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s tough message to China that its violation of the border pacts has “eroded” the entire basis of bilateral ties, Beijing on Friday said the situation at the border is “generally stable.”  It also said both the nations should put the boundary issue in an “appropriate position” and promote its transition to “normalized management.”

This reaction came after Rajnath on Thursday told his Chinese counterpart General Li Shangfu in a 45-minute meeting in New Delhi that development of relations between India and China is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquility at the borders.

He added that all issues at the Line of Actual Control(LAC)need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments. Rajnath reiterated that violation of existing agreements has “eroded” the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation. The Chinese Defence Minister was in national capital to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ Meeting.  Rajnath reportedly did not shake hands with him.

A Chinese Defence Ministry statement issued in Beijing on Friday said that during the meeting the two sides exchanged views on militaries and bilateral relations.

General Li pointed out that “currently, the situation on the China-India border is generally stable and the two sides have maintained communication through military and diplomatic channels.”

“The two sides should take a long-term view, place the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, and promote the transition of the border situation to normalised management,” he said.

“It is hoped that the two sides will work together to continuously enhance mutual trust between the two militaries and make proper contributions to the development of bilateral relations,” Li told Rajnath.

The Chinese defence minister said as major neighbouring countries and important developing countries, China and India share far more common interests than differences.

“The two sides should view bilateral relations and each other’s development from a comprehensive, long-term and strategic perspective, and jointly contribute wisdom and strength to world and regional peace and stability”, he said.

Sources in New Delhi said Rajnath conveyed to Li that after disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, there should be a movement towards de-escalation and expressed hope for a “positive response”.