India, China should work for mutual understanding: Chinese foreign minister

India and China should work towards mutual understanding and avoid “suspicion” and “alienation”, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Monday. Misri met Wang ahead of talks with vice foreign minister Sun Weidong, the latest in a series of engagements since the two sides reached an understanding last October aimed at reducing tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after a military standoff of over four years.

Wang said the two sides should “meet each other halfway” and “commit to mutual understanding [and] mutual support”, and avoid “mutual suspicion [and] mutual alienation”, according to a readout in Mandarin from China’s foreign ministry. There was official word on the meeting from the Indian side.