A statement posted on the Chinese Defence Ministry website described the yesterday’s meeting between Rajnath and General Li Shangfu at New Delhi.

Without wanting to commit itself on resolving the three-year-old stand-off at the LAC, the Chinese statement said: “The two sides should take a long-term view, place the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations, and promote the transition of the border situation to normalised management”.

Clearly making an attempt to delink the LAC stand off from other matters, the Chinese statement quoted Gen Li as having said: “As major neighbouring countries and important developing countries, China and India share far more common interests than differences.”