BEIJING, June 11: China hopes that India and Pakistan will soon resume talks to settle their bilateral disputes, including the issue of Kashmir, through peaceful means.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters at a weekly briefing here on Tuesday that China “welcomes the initiatives taken by the two countries to de-escalate the existing tension.”

The spokesman said the peaceful co-existence “is in the interest of the two countries,” and also in keeping with the wishes of the international community.

Meanwhile, Ma Jiali, a research fellow with the Institute on China Modern International Relationship said the Kashmir issue “hinders improvement of India-Pakistan relations.”

India and Pakistan have once worked hard to improve their relations and stabilize the situation, but due to the Kashmir issue, their relationship has so far witnessed no substantive improvement, he said in an interview.—APP