Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China started meaningful engagement: Congress

New Delhi, Oct 12: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded their informal meeting at Mamallapuram on Saturday, the Congress said India's meaningful engagement with China started with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's visit to the neighbouring country in 1988, and the Manmohan Singh led-UPA government took it forward to the level of mature understanding.

Replying to a question on Aksai Chin, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had passed a resolution saying the part of Kashmir, which was illegally ceded to China by Pakistan, should be returned to India.

He said the party had taken note of the summit that took place between India and China.

The two countries were not only neighbours, but two major economies and the two most populated nations in the world and their partnership was multi-faceted, despite the difficulties and unresolved issues they had, Sharma said, replying to questions about the summit.

"India has remained meaningfully engaged with China and it started with (former) prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's visit in 1988 and his dialogue with then Chinese supreme leader and during the 10 years of the UPA government, this was taken forward and the relationship was brought to a level of mature understanding," the Congress spokesperson said.

He reiterated that the Congress was firm in its stand that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India and that the Kashmir problem was entirely our internal matter.

"I did not think that Modi would have discussed about it with Jinping. We are against any third party meddling on the Jammu and Kashmir issue," Sharma said.

About the centre's decision to remove the restrictions on mobile communication in Kashmir from Monday, he said the Congress always felt that the people in the valley should enjoy all the rights and freedom guaranteed in the constitution.