China on Wednesday said the latest round of the border talks with India was held in a "candid and pragmatic atmosphere" and the two sides had a "positive, constructive and in-depth discussion" on the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector.
The 19th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side from August 13 to 14.
A joint press release issued after the two-day talks did not indicate any immediate breakthrough in the disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points.
"China commends the progress made through the meeting. In a candid and pragmatic atmosphere, the two sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday in response to a question by the official media Beijing.
"In line with the guidance provided by the leadership, they exchanged views in an open and forward-looking manner," Wang said.
The two sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner and maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through military and diplomatic channels. In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas, the spokesperson said.
The talks were held days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Johannesburg next week to attend a summit of BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) where he is set to come face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
In the 18th round of the military dialogue that was held on April 23, the Indian side had pitched for resolving the lingering issues at Depsang and Demchok at the earliest.
On July 24, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of a meeting of the five-nation grouping BRICS in Johannesburg.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
