China on Thursday said that “sound and stable ties” serve the common interests of China and India as it reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that for New Delhi, ties with Beijing are important and the “prolonged situation” at the borders should be addressed urgently.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, which described India’s rise as “unstoppable”, Prime Minister Modi expressed hope that through positive and constructive bilateral engagement at the diplomatic and military levels, the two countries will be able to restore and sustain peace and tranquillity at their borders.

“China has noted the remarks by the prime minister,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here when asked for her reaction to Modi’s statement.

“We believe that sound and stable China, India relations serve the common interests of both sides and are conducive to peace and development of the region and beyond,” she said.

In his interview, which is the first to be given to a US magazine in the recent past, Modi said that for India, the relationship with China is important and significant.

“It is my belief that we need to urgently address the prolonged situation on our borders so that the abnormality in our bilateral interactions can be put behind us. Stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world,” he said.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao said the boundary question “does not represent the entirety of the India-China relations. It should be placed appropriately in the bilateral relations and managed properly”.

The two sides are in close communication through diplomatic and military channels, she said.

“We hope India will work in the same direction with China, handle the bilateral relations from the strategic heights and long-term perspective, enhance mutual trust, stick to dialogue and cooperation, handle differences properly and put the bilateral relations forward on sound and stable track,” she said.

The relations between India and China have been frozen except for trade ties ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area.

The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of corps commander-level talks to resolve the standoff.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides so far agreed to disengage from four points, namely the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra).

India is pressing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok areas, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.