It’s no secret India-China ties in very difficult phase: Jaishankar

China has "disregarded" bilateral border agreements with India, and the ongoing border stand-off in eastern Ladakh has cast a shadow over India's ties with China, foreign minister S Jaishankar said at an event in Brazil.

Participating in a community programme in Sao Paulo, the minister said India has agreements with China going back to the 1990s which prohibit "bringing mass troops in the border area".

"They have disregarded that. You know what happened in Galwan Valley. That problem has not been resolved and that has been clearly casting a shadow," said Jaishankar, ahead of a possible meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan. He added it was no secret that this is a very difficult phase in India's relationship with China.

aishankar said a lasting relationship cannot be a one-way street and mutual respect and mutual sensitivity had to be there in order to sustain it. "They are our neighbours. Everybody wants to get along with their neighbour. In personal life and country-wise as well. But everybody wants to get along with on reasonable terms. I must respect you. You must respect me," he said.

"So from our point of view, we have been very clear that we have to build the relationship and there has to be mutual respect. Each one will have their interests and we need to be sensitive to what the concerns are for others for a relationship to be built," he added.

Jaishankar said there's a need to ensure through diplomacy that the common man is shielded from rising energy prices and that the Indian economy is not adversely affected.