China terms Kartarpur corridor as step towards stability in South Asia

China on Monday said it was glad to see good interaction between India and Pakistan on opening the Kartarpur corridor, allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the holy shrine in Kartarpur.

Beijing also said the stable ties between New Delhi and Islamabad meant a lot to world peace and hoped that both sides could solve their differences through dialogue.

"We are glad to see this good interaction between Pakistan and India. Both countries are important in South Asia and the stability of the relations means a lot to the world peace and development," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told the media.

"We sincerely hope that these two countries can strengthen coordination and dialogue properly and address their difference and improve their relations for stability and peace," he added.

Last month, Pakistan agreed to India's long-pending demand to open the Kartarpur border to facilitate visa-free pilgrimage by Indian Sikhs to Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, where Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan performed the groundbreaking ceremony on November 28 to develop the Kartarpur corridor to link Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur in India with Kartarpur gurdwara in the presence of Indian Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hardeep Puri and Congress party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.

(With inputs from agencies.)