NEW DELHI, Oct 9: A day after sending the Indian establishment into raptures by removing Sikkim from its list of independent countries that adorned Beijing’s official website, China clarified on Thursday that its dispute with India over the Himalayan region was not over yet.

“On the question of Sikkim, this is an issue left over from history. On this issue, we must respect historical facts and at the same time take into account the present circumstances,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue was quoted by Indian news agencies as saying in Beijing.

“Notwithstanding removal of Sikkim as a separate country from its official website, China today declined to publicly recognize the fact that the Himalayan state is part of India,” Press Trust of India reported.

It quoted Zhang as saying that historical facts must be respected but hoped that the issue could be resolved “gradually”.

“We hope the Sikkim question will be gradually solved,” Zhang said in response to a query if China has recognized Sikkim as part of India by removing it from the Foreign Ministry’s website.

She did not comment whether China’s decision to remove Sikkim from the ministry’s website ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Bali on Wednesday could be considered as a tacit acknowledgement of India’s sovereignty over the northeastern state, PTI said.