China on Tuesday asserted that its policy of improving relations with India remains unchanged, even as it defended its move to assign new names to places in Arunachal Pradesh—an issue that has drawn a strong rebuttal from New Delhi.

Beijing’s response comes days after India rejected China’s latest attempt to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, calling it an effort to create “baseless narratives” that cannot change facts on the ground. The development also coincides with China setting up a new administrative county in Aksai Chin, a region India considers part of its sovereign territory.

"India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Responding to the remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated Beijing’s stance, stating that Zangnan—China’s term for Arunachal Pradesh—is its territory and that China does not recognise the Indian state.

"It is entirely within China's sovereignty to standardise the names of some places in the Zangnan region," Guo said, defending China’s decision to publish multiple batches of names for locations in Arunachal Pradesh.

Despite the tensions, Guo maintained that bilateral ties remain stable and emphasised continuity in China’s approach toward India.

"We hope the two sides will work in the same direction and act more in ways conducive to bilateral relations," he added.

The naming dispute is part of a broader pattern of friction between the two sides. On March 26, China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced the creation of Cenling county, a strategically located area near Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Afghanistan, and close to the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Cenling, situated near the Karakoram range, is the third new county set up by China in Xinjiang. Last year, India had protested the creation of Hean and Hekang counties, noting that parts of their jurisdiction fall within Ladakh.

China has been issuing renamed lists for places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017, a move India has consistently opposed, reiterating that assigning “fictitious names” to its territory cannot alter the “undeniable reality.”