BEIJING, March 8 � China today said the border dispute with India has been �contained� as it sought stronger ties for the resolution of the vexed issue, likening it with climbing a mountain that gets �tougher� towards the summit, reports PTI.
Addressing his annual press conference on the sidelines of the National People�s Congress (NPC), China�s legislature, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the Indian elephant and Chinese dragon should �do more� to strengthen bilateral cooperation to clinch a final settlement of the boundary issue.
�As for China-India boundary question, it is a legacy of history. We have worked on it for many years and made some progress in the boundary negotiations,� Wang said here in a nationally-televised address.
�It is like climbing a mountain ...The going is tough because we are on the way up. This is all the more reason that we do more to strengthen China-India cooperation so that we can enable and facilitate the settlement of the boundary question,� he said answering a question from PTI about Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s expected visit and the chances of a breakthrough in the boundary talks that have dragged on for years.
�The dispute has been contained. At the moment, the boundary negotiation is in the process of building up small positive developments,� Wang said in an elaborate comment on the issue ahead of the forthcoming 18th round of border talks.
He also said that a warm welcome awaited Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he makes his first visit to China later this year.
�Last September, President Xi Jinping made an historic visit to India. Picture of the two leaders working at a spinning wheel in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister, has spread far and wide in China.
