China says played ‘constructive role’ in reducing Pakistan, India tension

BEIJING: China played a “constructive role” in reducing tension between Pakistan and India, the country’s foreign ministry said, after escalation of tensions between he nuclear-armed rivals in February following an attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir.

A minister of Pakistan minister said China and the United Arab Emirates intervened to lessen tension between the south Asian neighbours apart of the efforts from the United States.

In a faxed statement on Monday, responding to a question on China’s role in reining in the crisis, its foreign ministry said peaceful coexistence between Pakistan and India was in everyone’s interest.

“As a friendly neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China pro-actively promoted peace talks and played a constructive role in easing the tense situation,” it said.

“Some other countries also made positive efforts in this regard,” the ministry added.

China is willing to work with the international community to continue to encourage the neighbours to meet each other half way and use dialogue and peaceful means to resolve differences, it said, without elaborating.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, is set to meet Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Beijing later on Tuesday.

The Feb. 14 attack that killed at least 40 paramilitary police was the deadliest in Kashmir’s 30-year-long insurgency, escalating tension between the neighbours.

China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather” friends, but China has also been trying to improve ties with New Delhi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held an informal summit in China last year agreeing to reset relations, and Xi is expected to visit India sometime this year, diplomatic sources say.