China India. Photo: VCG

The overall situation of China-India border remains stable and the settlement process should not influence the normal development of bilateral relationship, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday in response to a senior Indian official's remarks that India could ease its heightened scrutiny of Chinese investments if the two countries' border remains peaceful. 
 
While attending the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, told Reuters that India could ease its heightened scrutiny of Chinese investments if the two countries' border remains peaceful. 

Reuters also noted that in 2020, India tightened scrutiny on investments from companies based in countries it borders, adding a layer of vetting and security clearances, a move that was widely seen as retaliation for a clash between Chinese and Indian troops along the border. 

Mao told the press conference that in recent years, the international community has been questioning that there are hidden political calculations behind the discriminatory measures and selective law enforcement adopted by India against Chinese companies there. If relevant reports are true, then it proves that the questions are not made in a vacuum.
 
The spokesperson said China always believes that, China-India boundary question is a historic issue and should be placed and resolved appropriately in our bilateral relations. The situation on the China-India border has been stable on the whole, and the settlement process should not influence the normal development of our bilateral relationship, She said. 

Mao noted that in fact, the two-way trade volume between China and India has surmounted $100 billion in recent consecutive years and kept rising annually, which shows the resilience and potential of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
 
China hopes that India could fully recognize the win-win nature of China-India economic and trade cooperation, and provide a fair, just, transparent and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing and operating in India, said Mao.

Global Times