As the unsettled boundary issue continues to raise temperatures every once in a while in both New Delhi and Beijing, China has said that the two countries need to “turn over to a new page” and “make compromises, meet each other half-way”.

These views on behalf of the Chinese government were expressed by Li Junru, a former vice-president of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Central Party School and member of the standing committee of the CPPCC (Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) national committee.
The top Chinese official’s remarks come close on the heels of China showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory in its e-passports. An irate New Delhi retaliated by issuing Chinese nationals visas showing both these areas as part of India.
Mr Junru, who was in the capital leading a six-member delegation, further said: “The border issue is a headache and trouble left over to us by the British colonists. It happens because of historical reasons at the same time and we did have some unhappy and unfortunate incidents in this regard in the past.”
Acknowledging that these have “hindered our development”, Mr Junru added, “ but I think we should try to turn over to a new page as soon as possible.” According to him, this would “benefit people and the growth of our two countries.”
On China being at logger-heads with its neighbours over its claims over the South China Sea — India too has been at the receiving end of Chinese muscle-flexing — Mr Junru said, “these are our territorial lands”. He said China is now trying to “have negotiations, dialogue with the parties concerned...we do not wish to resort to the use of force or to intimidate others by our so-called economic and military strength.”
He added, “it does not mean that if somebody flexes their muscles, we’ll just stand idly by and do nothing. On the South China Sea, certain parties, certain sides have used military ships but we have not....On this matter, China will not act recklessly. But that does not meant that we will give into the end. If somebody uses force against us, we will not stay there, sit there and do nothing.”
On the boundary issue, Mr Junru said that despite over a dozen round of negotiations, “a breakthrough is yet to be made, we are having more understanding of each other. What we should do is to make compromises, meet each other half-way.” He also declared that once this issue is resolved, “nothing will hinder the development of our relations”.
Regarding the South China Sea, Mr Junru also said: “We do not put pressure on others on these matters. Instead, we were being pressured by the others. For a long time...it was all at peace on the South China Sea (sic). There was no such problem of sovereignty, nor a problem of navigation. But one day, we discovered a large amount of oil and natural gas reserve in this region. And all of a sudden, some people jump up and say, `Ya, that’s ours’.” He continued: “But for us Chinese, starting from primary school students, we all know that from history for a a long time, these are our territorial lands and other people who do not agree say `No, it’s ours. So, what can we do?”