rediff.com: Resolve border row, India tells China

India on Saturday called on China to improve relations and urged a settlement of its border row which has dragged the two Asian giants into a bloody war almost four decades ago.

Indian leaders congratulated China on the 50th anniversary of the setting up of diplomatic ties between the two countries and stressed the need for regional peace and economic partnership.

"We attach importance to the development of friendly, cooperative, good-neighbourly and mutually-beneficial relations with China," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in a message to his Chinese counterpart Zhu Rongji.

"With the joint efforts of the two sides, we can build a stable relationship of constructive cooperation into the 21st century and thereby contribute to peace and stability in the Asian region," he said.

India was the first country to accord diplomatic recognition to China's Communist government.

Beijing has also been seeking for the past year to improve ties with New Delhi, which were scarred by a brief border war in 1962 and India's nuclear tests in May 1998, which were strongly condemned by Beijing.

In a sign of the improving Sino-Indian relationship President K R Narayanan is set to visit China in May to attend ceremonies marking the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, in a message to his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan, said it was the responsibility of New Delhi and Beijing to impose a regime of peace in the region.

"We must persist with this, even as neighbours we address ourselves to unresolved issues, for that is our joint responsibility to the future," Singh said without making any direct reference to the unresolved border dispute.

India says China still holds 40,000 sq km of its territory in Kashmir, while Beijing lays claim to a wide swathe of territory in Arunachal Pradesh. Thirteen rounds of talks over the years on the dispute have failed to yield any tangible results on the militarised Sino-Indian borders.

Narayanan said Asia's two most populous nations should forge an economic partnership.

"We are engaged in massive efforts for economic development. It is natural that we should work together for prosperity and for peace in Asia and in the world," Narayanan told Chinese President Jiang Zemin in a message.

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Resolve border row, India tells China: AFP