India and China Tuesday reaffirmed their political will to resolve their long-standing border dispute and said a delay in finding a solution should not hinder expansion of bilateral ties.

During a 40-minute meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jia Bao here, the two leaders hoped the guiding principles for resolving the border issue would be finalised soon.

They noted that "much progress" had been made during two rounds of talks between India's Special Representative and National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo.

The meeting between the Indian and Chinese leaders was their first interaction since Manmohan Singh took office in May and was held on the margins of the 10th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that both are attending as dialogue partners.

Dixit, who briefed reporters after the meeting, said the Chinese premier also assured the Indian side that a decision had been taken by Beijing on acknowledging Indian sovereignty over Sikkim - that Beijing had all these years disputed - and would be implemented gradually.

India, on its part, told China that New Delhi's position on the issue of Tibet - that it was an autonomous region of China - was clear and that Beijing need have no worry on the matter.

There was no reference to Pakistan during the talks between Singh and Wen, he added.

--Indo-Asian News Service