China on Friday stepped into the diplomatic controversy triggered by US President Donald Trump’s social media repost referring to India and China as “hellholes”, saying enduring bilateral ties are built on “respect, not rhetoric”.Reacting to the row, Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, said, “Viral words fade. Real partnerships don’t. Bilateral ties are built on respect, not rhetoric,” in a sharply worded post reflecting Beijing’s disapproval of the language used.The remarks added an international dimension to a controversy that had already drawn a strong response from New Delhi.India on Thursday described the comments as “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that such characterisations did not reflect the reality of India-US relations.MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had taken note of both the original remarks and subsequent clarifications from US officials, but maintained that the language used was unacceptable and inconsistent with the spirit of bilateral engagement.