The China spokesperson said the successful meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, in October provided strategic guidance for the improvement and development of bilateral ties.

In November last year, Indian and Chinese troops started patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after a gap of over four years. Patrolling was stopped in these two areas in eastern Ladakh for about four and a half years after the two sides clashed in the Pangong Lake and Galwan regions in May-June 2020.

"It is true that there have been ongoing border disputes between us. And in 2020, the incidents along the border created significant tensions between our countries. However, after my recent meeting with President Xi, we have seen a return to normalcy at the border," PM Modi said. 

Both sides, said the China spokesperson, have earnestly followed through on the important common understandings, strengthened exchanges and achieved positive outcomes.

As the two largest developing countries, China and India have shared the task of accelerating their development and revitalisation and understand and support each other's successes, she said.

This serves the fundamental interests of over 2.8 billion people, meets the common aspiration of regional countries, and follows the historical trend of the Global South growing stronger and conducive to world peace, she further added.

The two countries should be partners that contribute to each other's success and a "cooperative pas de deux", a ballet dance between dragon and elephant, is the "only choice for both sides", she said, reiterating the recent comments by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the development of bilateral ties.

China stands ready to work with India to implement the important common understandings between the two leaders, take the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations as an opportunity and advance bilateral ties on the track of stable and sound development, she said.