China pulls out of plan to launch commemorative stamp with India to mark 70 years of ties

Amid the military standoff between the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, China has cancelled plans to jointly launch commemorative stamps with India to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the state media reported on Tuesday.

China's State Post Bureau has decided to cancel its plan to jointly launch commemorative stamps with India, state-run CGTN-TV reported, quoting a statement by the bureau without mentioning the date of the event. No reason was given for the decision, the report said. There has been no response from India's Ministry of External Affairs so far. 

In November 2019, India and China finalised 70 celebratory activities in 2020 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries with a host of cultural, religious and trade promotion activities besides military exchanges.

The joint release of commemorative stamps was one of the activities listed by both countries. The celebrations were initially hit by the breakout of the Coronavirus in December last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan which later snowballed into a pandemic. According to media reports, the stamp was to be on the Mogao Caves, a renowned site in China’s Gansu province where the Buddhist grottoes reflect ancient Sino-Indian cultural links.

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Working with India for further easing of border tensions: China

China and India are in close communication to further ease tensions in eastern Ladakh and both sides will hold consultations over specific arrangements for the next round of talks, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday. The Chinese and Indian armies held the 8th round of Corps Commander-level meeting on November 6 to resolve the border standoff that erupted in early May.

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Asked when the next round of talks will be held, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that China and India have been in "close communication on the border issue through diplomatic and military channels to further ease tensions." "The two sides will hold consultations over specific arrangements for further talks on the basis of acting on the existing consensus reached through previous talks," she said.

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Nearly 50,000 troops of the Indian Army are deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero conditions as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded any concrete outcome yet to resolve the border standoff. China has also deployed an equal number of troops, according to officials. 

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(With PTI inputs)