Sun Weidong said the two sides should strengthen strategic communication (file)

India and China should resolve disputes peacefully through dialogues at the regional level and jointly uphold peace and stability, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said ahead of the second informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.

The summit is expected to take place in the ancient coastal town of Mamallapuramon near Chennai. Both sides are yet to announce the dates for President Xi's India visit though it is learnt that he will arrive in Chennai on Friday for a nearly 24-hour trip.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, the Chinese envoy said both India and China should go beyond the model of "management of differences" and work towards actively shaping bilateral relations through accumulation of positive energy and forging greater cooperation for common development.

"At the regional level, we should resolve disputes peacefully through dialogues and consultations and jointly uphold regional peace and stability," he said, noting that China-India ties transcend the bilateral dimension and have assumed global and strategic significance.

"The two sides should strengthen strategic communication, enhance political mutual trust, give full play to the irreplaceable guidance of the two leaders in bilateral relations, and ensure the accurate transmission and solid implementation of the consensus reached by the two leaders," said the envoy.

The ties between India and China came under some strain after India announced withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated the state into two Union territories. China criticised India's decision and its Foreign Minister Wang Yi even raised it at the UN General Assembly last month.

Days later, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said that China was working for Kashmiris to help them get their fundamental rights and justice, comments which have not gone down well with New Delhi.

The first informal summit between Modi and Xi took place in picturesque Chinese lake city Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day long face off between the armies of the two countries in Doklam tri-junction in Sikkim sector raised fears of a war between the two Asian giants.