Currently, the reserve forces are under the dual leadership of military organs and local Communist Party committees and they would be brought under the control of the ruling party and the CMC from July 1, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The only way to resolve the current military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was for Beijing to realise that trying to 'change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion, is not the right way forward', India's ambassador to China Vikram Misri said in a hard-hitting interview to PTI.

In separate statements, the Chinese foreign and the defence ministries, however, repeated Beijing's stand that India was responsible for the June 15 violent face-off in eastern Ladakh. Defence Ministry Spokesman Col Wu Qian said the two defence ministers are negotiating on the phone.

In his address to RIC Foreign Ministers, Wang said the three countries should 'correctly handle and properly deal with sensitive factors in bilateral relations and safeguard the overall interests of mutual relation', without directly referring to the current round of India-China military tensions along the Line of Actual Control, (LAC).

This is the first time China has commented on the casualties. Though China has not revealed its casualty figure, there were reports that a commanding officer of the Chinese army was among those killed in the clashes. There is no official confirmation about it.

"As far as I know, China presently has not detained any Indian personnel," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a media briefing in Beijing while answering questions on the tense standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley.

The National Health Commission (NHC) said that 32 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the country on Thursday of which 28 were domestically-transmitted and four were imported. Of the domestically-transmitted cases, 25 were reported in Beijing, two in Hebei province and one in Liaoning province, it said in its daily report.

China said that after this incident both sides are in communication and coordination on the matter through diplomatic and military channels.

Wang said the two sides should follow the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and strengthen the communication and coordination on the proper handling of the border situation through the existing channels so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border area, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

While the de-escalation process was underway, a violent face-off took place on Monday night between Indian and Chinese troops leading to the death of 20 Indian soldiers.

Starting Wednesday, Beijing halts return to campus, and resumes online courses for middle and primary school students, as well as suspends college students' return to campus, the reports said.

The Chinese capital reported 106 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases since June 11 and a senior city official warned that the situation is "extremely severe" in Beijing where authorities have mounted massive containment measures including mass testing of about 90,000 people.

China has alleged that the Indian troops twice crossed the border line on June 15 for "illegal activities and provoked and attacked Chinese personnel" which led to serious physical conflict between the two sides, hours after the Indian Army said the violent face-off took place between the troops during the "de-escalation process" in the Galwan Valley.

"I am not aware of the information you provided," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing when asked about the reports of the Indian casualties at the contested borders. "Our border troops had a high-level meeting and reached important consensus on easing the border situation but astonishingly, on June 15, the Indian troops seriously violated our consensus and twice crossed the border line for illegal activities and provoked and attacked Chinese personnel which led to serious physical conflict between the two sides and China has lodged strong protest and representation with the Indian side," Zhao said.

The authorities have mounted massive containment measures including mass testing of about 90,000 people

In a bid to stem the spread of the contagion, the authorities in Beijing have conducted the nucleic acid test on 29,386 people who had visited the Xinfadi wholesale market since May 30, Gao Xiaojun, spokesman for the Beijing Health Commission, said on Monday. The market became a hotspot after it reported several new COVID-19 cases. Out of all the samples, 12,973 came negative and the rest are awaiting results, Gao told the media.

China has reported 66 new coronavirus cases, the largest since the disease was controlled in its first epicentre Wuhan in April, prompting the authorities to go into a 'wartime' mode to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the capital Beijing which has seen a sudden spike in the number of infections, health officials said on Sunday.

China's National Health Commission, (NHC) said on Saturday that 18 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the country on Friday, including six domestically-transmitted cases in Beijing. Also on Friday, seven new asymptomatic cases were reported, taking the total number of such people in quarantine to 98, it said.

Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.

Mountain brigades being raised by India are mostly meant for the Chinese border, especially the Tibetan plateau, and it is perhaps the first time a Chinese military expert publicly complimented their strength and strategic importance.