Beijing: In an apparent softening of its stance over the abrogation of Article 370, China has called for dialogue as a "way forward" for India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. China also lauded Beijing and New Delhi's relationship and said that the two sides have "steadily advanced cooperation" in various fields and have properly managed differences.

"China and India are important neighbours to each other. Both are large developing countries as well as major emerging markets. Since the Wuhan Informal Summit last year, China-India relations have shown sound momentum of development," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.