- Sunday, March 30, 2025
Jaishankar said there could be differences between the two countries in the foreseeable future as well but they shouldn’t become disputes
By: India Weekly
INDIA and China are trying to rebuild the ties damaged by the 2020 Galwan valley clashes, as a tense relationship will not serve either side, external affairs minister S Jaishankar has said.
In an interactive session hosted by leading think-tank Asia Society in New Delhi on Wednesday (26), Jaishankar said there could be differences between India and China in the foreseeable future as well but they shouldn’t become disputes.
Referring to the Galwan valley clashes, the external affairs minister said what happened in 2020 was “actually very traumatic for the relationship”.
“It wasn’t just the bloodshed, it was the disregard of written agreements…The departure from the terms of what was agreed to was very sharp and very substantial,” he said at the session moderated by Kyung-wha Kang, President and CEO of the Asia Society and a former foreign minister of South Korea.
Jaishankar further added: “We’re still dealing with some parts of this, it is not that the issue has completely gone away.”
He said the India-China relationship has seen some improvement since October last year. “We are working on different aspects of it. I have met my (Chinese) counterpart a few times, so have my other senior colleagues.”
“And what we are trying, step by step, is to see if we can rebuild, undo some of the damage which happened as a result of those actions in 2020, and we can rebuild that relationship. We genuinely, sincerely think that this is in our mutual interest,” he added.
In October, India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.
Days after the agreement was finalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.
Jaishankar said that differences between India and China should not become disputes.
India and China could have differences in the foreseeable future but they shouldn’t become disputes, he said.
“We do compete on many issues. But because we compete, it doesn’t mean that there should be a conflict between us. We are very realistic about it,” the external affairs minister said.
There are ways of addressing the issues, he said.
Jaishankar said a tense relationship between the two countries does not serve interests of either side.
“How do we benefit by having a very tense relationship with that large number of troops out there in a very hostile environment and on all the collateral damage which it has done to the relationship,” he said.
“Because obviously, if peace and tranquillity in the border areas are disturbed, then the rest of the relationship can’t go on as well,” he added.
Trade with US
Jaishankar said India and the US are holding “very active” and “intense” discussions on trade, as the world waits with anxiety over US president Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff that will kick in on April 2.
The minister declined to pre-judge the immediate outcomes of the trade negotiations but said there is a strong “business case” for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between the two countries.
Following talks between prime minister Narendra Modi and Trump in Washington DC last month, the two sides announced to negotiate the first tranche of the trade agreement by the fall of 2025.
“There’s a very active and intense trade discussion going on at this point of time,” Jaishankar said.
Brendan Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, is currently on a five-day visit to India from Tuesday.
It is not immediately known whether there are discussions on extending India some kind of waiver when the reciprocal tariff comes into force early next week.
On trade, we had a very open discussion and it is the result of the decision by prime minister Modi and US president Trump to have a bilateral trade agreement by fall this year, Jaishankar said.
“I have every confidence that they (negotiators) will negotiate what is the best possible deal for us. While noting the concerns, I wouldn’t prejudge the outcome. I would wait and see really what happens in terms of our ability to reach an understanding with the United States,” he added.
Jaishankar also talked about India’s ongoing discussions for separate free trade pacts with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
These agreements are “very serious” and they are quite advanced, he said, adding, “We’d like to wait and see whether actually you have a new set of very big agreements.”
On strategic ties with the US, Jaishankar said New Delhi is certainly expecting a “more substantial” and “higher quality” defence relationship under the Trump administration.
“We saw a president who is much more open and much more active in terms of building a security and defence partnership,” he said, suggesting that the Trump administration is more forthcoming in sharing American technologies with India. (PTI)
