China on Monday urged India to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas with concrete measures after clashes between soldiers of the two countries erupted in the Sikkim border region.

We hope India will work with China to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas with its concrete measures Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Legian told a news conference.
A clash occurred on the China-India border last week. A number of soldiers from both sides were wounded after throwing stones and fighting between them.

On the border issue between China and India, our position is clear and consistent. Our forces there remain committed to defending peace and stability in the region the spokesman said.

Legian commented that 2020 marks the seventieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In such circumstances, the two sides should work together to deal seriously with disputes and defend peace and stability in the border areas to create conditions for bilateral relations as well as joint combat against COVID-19 he added.

When asked if China was pursuing an aggressive approach against India after COVID-19 he described the related assumption as baseless. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 China and India have been in close contact and cooperation in preventing and controlling the challenge he said.

He said that the most pressing concern for the international community today is solidarity and cooperation against the coronavirus adding We must not allow any politicization and stigmatization in an attempt to create more differences or confrontations.

Earlier, Indian media claimed that Indian forces had reversed efforts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army to storm the Mogothang Valley in Sikkim and the fighting had taken an ugly turn on Friday.