China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, will visit India on 24-25 March, during which he will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in what is being seen as Beijing’s bid to set the stage for more substantial talks in future so as to ease the existing tensions between India and China. It is not yet clear whether or not he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Wang Yi is scheduled to meet NSA Ajit Doval.
The Ukraine situation and LAC stand-off are some of the issues that will be discussed during Wang Yi’s meeting with Jaishankar and Doval. “Ukraine and LAC will be high on Wang Yi’s agenda,” an official said. However, the Indian Foreign Minister is also ready to present his views emphatically. “Jaishankar will serve a fresh reminder that Chinese forces should abide by the written agreements between India and China,” highly-placed sources told The Daily Guardian. Jaishankar has repeatedly said that the Chinese side is disregarding the bilateral agreements and treaties in terms of maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control. At an event, Jaishankar had said that China’s violation of agreements on not massing forces at the LAC is the reason why its relations with India are going through a difficult phase.
Sources said that Wang Yi wants Jaishankar to visit China for more comprehensive talks to improve relations between the two nations. “If the ties improve then Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit China to attend the BRICS summit,” sources said. Wang Yi would also be meeting several other senior diplomats. This will be the highest such visit by a Chinese official since the deadly border disputes flared between the countries in 2020. “The proposal for Wang Yi’s visit to Delhi came from Beijing in what highlighted China’s intention to mend ties with India,” a diplomat told The Daily Guardian.
Wang will arrive directly from Pakistan after being the chief guest at the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Ministerial summit. Wang’s visit comes at a time when the military disengagement process in eastern Ladakh remains incomplete and military level talks are being held at regular intervals to break the logjam. The meeting will also take place against the backdrop of the Ukraine situation which has seen India taking a position independent of its western partners.
However, the visit is bound to start on the wrong foot, with the Ministry of External Affairs reacting sharply to Wang Yi’s comments on Kashmir in Islamabad. “We reject the uncalled reference to India by the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his speech at the Opening Ceremony,” said the MEA. At the OIC summit in Islamabad, Wang Yi had said, “On Kashmir, we have heard again today the calls of many of our Islamic friends. And China shares the same hope.”
WITH AGENCY INPUTS