With India expressing singular unhappiness over the fragile standoff on their border where tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides are massed on either side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC),  China said Thursday that it is ready to seek a "mutually acceptable solution" to the issues that require "urgent treatment" through negotiation.

During their hour-long in-person meeting on the sidelines of an SCO conclave in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart and State Councilor Wang Yi that any unilateral change in the status quo along the LAC was "not acceptable" to India and that the overall ties can only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.

The meeting took place amidst a stalemate in the disengagement process between the two militaries in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh after they withdrew troops and weapons from the Pangong Lake areas in February following series of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the standoff since May last year.

In a statement posted on its website on Wang's talks with Jaishankar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the minister stated that India-China relations remained at a low point while the situation at the LAC has generally been easing after the withdrawal of troops from the Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake.

While reiterating China's oft-repeated stand that it was not responsible for the China-India boundary situation, Wang, however said that China is ready to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the issues that require urgent treatment through negotiation and consultation with the Indian side.

While China moved its troops from Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso, the disengagement has not been completed from other friction points like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

While agreeing to discuss mutually acceptable solution to the issues that require urgent treatment, Wang said the two sides should place the boundary issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations and create favorable conditions for the settlement of differences through negotiation by expanding the positive aspects of bilateral cooperation.

"It is important to consolidate the achievements of the disengagement, strictly abide by the agreement and consensus between the two sides, refrain from taking any unilateral actions in the sensitive disputed areas, and avoid the recurrence of the situation due to misunderstanding and misjudgment," Wang was quoted as saying by the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

"We need to take a long-term view, shift from emergency management to normal border management and control mechanisms, and prevent border-related incidents from causing unnecessary disruptions to bilateral relations," he said.

The essence of China-India relations is how two major developing neighbors view each other, how to live in harmony and how to achieve mutual success, Wang added.

China's strategic judgment on China-India relations remains unchanged. The China-India relationship should not be a threat to each other, but an opportunity for each other's development. The two countries are partners, not rivals, and not enemies, he emphasized. (SAM)