Beijing: Maintaining that the Sikkim question was a historical legacy, China on October 14 expressed confidence that the issue would be solved "gradually" with the development of Sino-Indian relations.

"On the question of Sikkim, it is a question left over from history. We think that one should respect history and take into consideration practical factors on this question," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhang Qiyue told reporters at a regular briefing.

"We hope that it will be gradually solved with the development of the relations between China and India," Zhang said in reply to a question.

Ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's meeting with his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee, on the sidelines of the recent ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Summit in Bali, Indonesia, the Chinese Foreign Ministry deleted a Webpage which showed Sikkim as a separate country in Asia.

The Bali meeting between Wen and Vajpayee was the second meeting between the two leaders in less than four months since the latter visited Beijing in June.

During that trip, Beijing and New Delhi had signed a memorandum to open a border trade route between Sikkim and Tibet, which tacitly acknowledged India's sovereignty over the Himalayan state which joined the Indian Union in 1975.

At the Bali meeting, Wen and Vajpayee restated their resolve to solve the existing problems between the two countries through friendly dialogues and negotiations, Chinese Foreign Ministry sources said.

PTI