India and China are trying to rebuild the ties damaged by the Galwan valley clashes of 2020 as a tense relationship will not serve either side, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. In an interactive session hosted by leading think-tank Asia Society, Jaishankar said there could be differences between India and China in the foreseeable future as well but they shouldn’t become disputes.

Referring to the Galwan valley clashes, the external affairs minister said what happened in 2020 was “actually very traumatic for the relationship”.

“It wasn’t just the bloodshed, it was the disregard of written agreements…The departure from the terms of what was agreed to was very sharp and very substantial,” he said at the session moderated by Kyung-wha Kang, President and CEO of the Asia Society and a former foreign minister of South Korea.

Jaishankar further added: “We’re still dealing with some parts of this, it is not that the issue has completely gone away.”

He said the India-China relationship has seen some improvement since October last year. “We are working on different aspects of it. I have met my (Chinese) counterpart a few times, so have my other senior colleagues.”

“And what we are trying, step by step, is to see if we can rebuild, undo some of the damage which happened as a result of those actions in 2020, and we can rebuild that relationship. We genuinely, sincerely think that this is in our mutual interest,” he added.

In October, India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.

Days after the agreement was finalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.

Jaishankar said differences between India and China should not become disputes.

India and China could have differences in the foreseeable future but they shouldn’t become disputes, he said.

“We do compete on many issues. But because we compete, it doesn’t mean that there should be a conflict between us. We are very realistic about it,” the external affairs minister said.

There are ways of addressing the issues, he said.

Jaishankar said a tense relationship between the two countries does not serve interests of either side.

“How do we benefit by having a very tense relationship with that large number of troops out there in a very hostile environment and on all the collateral damage which it has done to the relationship,” he said.

“Because obviously, if peace and tranquillity in the border areas are disturbed, then the rest of the relationship can’t go on as well,” he added.