Chinese and Indian border troops have simultaneously withdrawn from a disputed area in the western section of the border, concluding a three-week standoff that had overshadowed an upcoming visit to Beijing by India's top diplomat.
"China and India have reached an agreement on resolving the incident in the western section of the border. The frontier forces of the two countries have terminated the standoff at the Tiannan River Valley area," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on Monday.
Hua earlier Monday told a regular press briefing that since the occurrence of the incident on April 15, both sides have made positive progress through dialogue.
She said the two sides have so far maintained close communication and consultations on the issue through border-related mechanisms, diplomatic channels and border defense meetings.
"I believe that both sides have the will and capability to properly resolve this incident as soon as possible and jointly maintain the healthy and stable growth of China-India relations," she said.
India claimed a platoon of Chinese border troops "intruded" 19 kilometers across the line of actual control between the two countries, in comments that were dismissed by China.
The Chinese troops reportedly set up five tents in the disputed area, and the Indian troops also established tented posts several hundred meters away.
"Both sides reached an agreement on Sunday night after a meeting was held between border commanders. We will withdraw our troops and China will do the same," a senior Indian army official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Another army source said around 50 Chinese soldiers had withdrawn and pulled down their tents, AFP reported.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times though it took a relatively long period to resolve the standoff, and it showed that the two sides have the capability to handle border disputes.
Swaran Singh, a professor from the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told the Global Times both sides behaved maturely in resolving the issue.
Han Hua, director of the Center for Arms Control and Disarmament at the School of International Studies affiliated with Peking University, told the Global Times Monday that the withdrawal came as no surprise, noting that both New Delhi and Beijing are rational when handling bilateral disputes despite constant hyping of tensions by media.
According to Han, bilateral ties were tense from 2006 to 2009 due to rows over the eastern section of the China-Indian border, but have warmed up since 2010, partly because of rising disputes with China's neighbors to the east as a result of the US pivot to Asia.
"Last fall's leadership transition in China was another turning point. The new leadership adjusted its policies and now seeks a stabilized relationship with India," Han said. "The grand strategy of China is to avoid troubled relations with its neighbors. Given current rows with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, there is no reason to start another row."
The border standoff once threatened to overshadow a planned visit to Beijing on Thursday by Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid, who is reportedly preparing for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India later this month.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman confirmed to AFP Monday that Khurshid would be traveling to Beijing as scheduled.
Singh noted that the withdrawal of border troops would have positive impacts on both Khurshid and Li's visits, which was also one of the reasons for the resolving of tensions. "Premier Li is taking his first foreign visit to India. Both China and India would definitely want the visit to be a success," he said.
"As emerging powers, the two countries both face pressures from the West, and have the will to cooperate on a wide range of global issues. They both want stability and prioritize economic development, so they don't want to clash with each other," Han said.
Ling Yuhuan and agencies contributed to this story