NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar said Wednesday India-China ties now are "much better than before" and moving in the right direction, but added there's still work to be done to normalise the relationship.
The minister said that there's now a recognition of the fact that the situation that prevailed between 2020 and 2024 wasn't in the interest of the bilateral relationship.
"It's obviously better than the last time I was here. I think the disengagement, particularly the Depsang-Demchok was important," he said speaking at a media event, adding that issues on the border remained to some extent because of the force build-up over a period of years.
The Depsang-Demchok agreement last year in October completed the process of troop disengagement at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, bringing to an end the military standoff that erupted in 2020. The border situation has since, as PM Modi said in a recent podcast, seen a return to normalcy even though the two sides have work to do for further de-escalation.