China, India to work on border dispute

BEIJING, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- India and China reportedly have agreed to speed up efforts to resolve their long-standing border dispute.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had "very good discussions" with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and both agree negotiations should be expedited.

"We are dealing with difficult issues," Singh told the Xinhua News Agency. "Without setting any deadline, I do think it is possible to move forward at a faster pace."

In another development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference in Beijing the two countries will hold friendly discussions to find an appropriate solution to the border issue.

China and India account for more than a third of the world's total population.