BEIJING: China has virtually turned down Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's proposal for clarification on the Line of Control as an important step to ensure peace on the border. A senior Chinese foreign ministry official has indicated that China has strong reservations about it.

"We tried to clarify some years ago but it encountered some difficulties, which led to even complex situation," deputy director general of the Asian Affairs at the foreign ministry Huang Xilian said explaining his government's position.

"That is why whatever we do we should make it more conducive to peace and tranquility for making things easier and not to make them complicated," he told a group of Indian experts and journalists on Wednesday.

Modi had made his demand public in an address to students of the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, which was also attended by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on May 15.

"If we find that clarification of the LAC is building block then we should go ahead. But if we find that it is a stumbling block it could complicate the situation further. We have to be careful," Huang, the Ministry's point man for India, said.

"Whatever we do in the border area it should be constructive. That means it should be a building block for the process of negotiations not stumbling block," he said.

Huang said both sides should try to reach an agreement on code of conduct on the border issue.

"Our position is that we have to seek some kind of comprehensive measures, not only one measure to control and manage the border to ensure peace and tranquillity along the border. We can try and reach an agreement on the code of conduct," he said.

Trying to persuade India not to insist on LAC clarification, the foreign ministry official said,"There is no need to do only one thing. We have to do many things. We have to seek comprehensive approach to this".

India and China have held 18 rounds of Special Representative talks to resolve the issue. India is asking for a clarification on LAC to determine where each side stand physically on the border, and avoid future problems like incursions. Beijing's refusal will make it difficult to avoid confusion on the line of actual control.

China says the border dispute is confined only to 2,000 kms mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, but India asserts that the dispute covered the western side of the border spanning to about 4,000 kms, especially the Aksai Chin area annexed by China in 1962 war.

