'Boundary questions should not define China-India relations', says Chinese envoy Xu Feihong

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihon

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong on Tuesday said India-China relations have reached a “new level of improvement” after the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. He underlined that the two sides “should not allow the boundary question that was left over from the past to define the current China-India relations, nor let specific differences affect comprehensive bilateral cooperation", as seen in a video shared by ANI on X.

Speaking at a National Day reception in Delhi, where he was joined by Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, Xu noted that this year — marking 76 years of the Communist Party government and 75 years of diplomatic ties — had witnessed “a major improvement in high-level engagements and people-to-people ties.”

#WATCH | Delhi: Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, says, "...China-India economic and trade cooperation continues to expand and has great potential...China stands ready to work with India to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and make a bigger pie… pic.twitter.com/HMz4JaO4Si

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— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2025

Pointing to the importance of dialogue, the envoy said, “Bridging differences through dialogue has always been the important key to advancing China-India relations.” He added that “over the past 75 years, despite the ups and downs, the relationship is overwhelmingly defined by friendly cooperation.”

Xu said the Chinese Embassy issued 2,65,000 visas to Indians this year and had resumed the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage, with 700 official pilgrims and 20,000 private pilgrims making the journey in 2025, reported The Hindu. On trade, he reported that between January and August, goods trade grew 10.4% year-on-year to $102 billion. “China-India economic and trade cooperation continues to expand and has great potential... China stands ready to work with India to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and make a bigger pie of common interests,” he said.

The envoy reiterated China’s readiness to broaden ties. “We are ready to advance friendly exchanges with India at all levels and in all sectors, and further deepen mutual understanding and friendship,” Xu remarked.

These were his first public remarks since Mr. Modi’s August 30 trip to China, his first in seven years. Just last month, Xu criticised Washington for “bullying” India through 50% tariffs, voicing China’s support for India in efforts to safeguard the global trading system. India and the U.S. have since reopened trade talks, though the tariffs remain in place.

Citing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit attended by Mr. Modi, Xu said that Mr. Xi had put forward a “Global Governance Initiative,” which calls for “adherence to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centred approach.”