Commentary: Border issues not insurmountable barrier between China, India

With China and India's resolution to tap into the vast potential of bilateral cooperation, border disputes will not become an insurmountable barrier for securing the overall stability in the region, as both nations are capable of keeping the disputes under control.

Although the border disputes between the two countries do stir up tense and concerns, the two sides' frequent meetings have shown that China and India would like to see their border issues resolved via diplomatic channels.

On Sunday, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi arrived in New Delhi to start a three-day visit for the 18th round of boundary talks between India and China, the first one since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power in May 2014.

In the meetings, both sides reiterated their willingness to honor agreements reached in previous talks, to enhance the mutual trust, as well as to focus on dialogue and control mechanism over possible future border issues.

Despite all the difficulties, the border talks continue to register progress and the disputes have been brought under control. Mechanisms such as regularly scheduled border talks, military hot-lines and designated meeting areas deep in the Himalayas are installed to prevent unexpected incidents from flaring into warfare.

The boundary negotiation between China and India, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi put it, is in the process of building up small and positive developments.

"It's like climbing a mountain: the going is tough, and that is only because we are on the way up," Wang said.

While diplomatic infrastructure has helped keep things calm, both countries have more to gain by increasing trade and cooperation, as cross-border cooperation is far more common than frontier standoffs today.

The world's two most populous nations, despite their differences, share mutual benefits in so many areas that they are made natural partners in many different areas.

Reputed as a global factory and a global service provider respectively, China and India enjoy great economic potential for cooperation in investment, financial services and high technologies.

Both sides should seize opportunities, remove barriers and strengthen the positive momentum for the advancement of China-India relations.

High-level exchanges, especially Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to India in 2014 and Modi's planned visit to China later this year, powerfully contribute to improving mutual political trust and consolidating the foundation of bilateral relations.

Cooperation, including those in culture, railway and industrial parks construction, has also been broadened.

Moreover, China and India can cooperate and coordinate closely within regional frameworks to accelerate economic development and jointly strive for a larger say for emerging economies in international organizations that have been dominated by developed economies.

Some of the world's highest mountains lie between China and India, but the connection between the two ancient civilizations have never been severed by their height.

As the Himalayas has not stop the ancient Chinese and Indians from knowing and learning from each other, existing border disputes between the two great nations will not become an insurmountable barrier to the improvement of bilateral relations. Endi