New Delhi: Hours after China said it does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India, New Delhi on July 25 asserted that the North Eastern state is its "integral part", a spat that could cloud the new momentum in bilateral ties after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to Beijing.

"The state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India", External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters when asked about remarks made earlier in the day in Beijing by his Chinese counterpart.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan while denying a report published in a Delhi newspaper that Chinese forces had transgressed into Indian territory near the LAC when Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was visiting Beijing, said China does not recognise that Arunachal Pradesh is part of India.

Kong said they had found the "Indian side crossed the Eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). At the request of the Chinese side, the Indian people who crossed the LAC, returned to the Indian side of the LAC."

The MEA spokesman said, "We have made our position on the incident clear yesterday".

PTI