China on Sunday told the US to stay out of bilateral issues between New Delhi and Beijing, reacting sharply to comments made by US assistant secretary of state Donald Lu in an interview during a short visit to New Delhi last week.

In the interview to NDTV, Lu had said: “We have not seen China take good faith steps to resolve the border issue. In fact, quite the opposite, with aggressive Chinese moves, most recently, in India’s Northeast. In 2020, when the Galwan Valley clash happened, the US was the first to criticise Chinese aggression and offer support to India. The US will continue to stand with India.”

Reacting to this, Chinese embassy spokesperson Wang Xiaojian contested the facts cited by Lu without naming him and said China was opposed to third countries commenting on a bilateral issue. Wang maintained that New Delhi and Beijing had the will and capability to resolve the issue through dialogue.

Wang said the US state department official’s allegations against China on the China-India border issue lacked factual basis. “The Chinese side is firmly opposed to such acts that a third country point fingers at the bilateral issue between other two countries out of geopolitical consideration,” Wang said.

The current China-India border situation, Wang said, is stable overall.

“The two sides have maintained smooth and constructive communication on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels, and promoted the border situation to switch from the phase of emergency response to normalised management and control,” Wang said.

“The boundary question is a matter between China and India. The two sides have the will and capability of resolving the question through dialogue and consultation. We hope the US could do more things that contribute to regional peace and stability.” While China is suspicious of Washington’s intent, India too is publicly averse to any suggestion of third-party intervention on bilateral issues, whether relating to China or Pakistan.