NEW DELHI, Aug 19: Striking a note of reconciliation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the bilateral relationship between India and China now faces an “important opportunity.”
Speaking at the 24th meeting between Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question, Mr Wang indirectly referred to the negative impact of the 2020 Galwan clashes, and said the “setbacks” of the recent past did not advance the interests of both countries.
Responding to the positive sentiment from the Chinese side, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit China to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
“The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of our two countries, and in October last year, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held an important meeting in Kazan (Russia). That meeting pointed direction for our bilateral relations and provided impetus for proper settlement of the boundary question,” Mr Wang said in his remarks, recollecting the meeting between the two leaders during the BRICS summit in Kazan.
Mr Doval described the previous Special Representative-level talks in China as “wonderful”, and said there had been an “upward trend” in India-China ties in recent months. “I am very hopeful that like the last one, this 24th Special Representative-level talks will be equally successful. Our Prime Minister will be visiting for the SCO summit shortly, and therefore, this Special Representative-level talk assumes a very special importance,” Mr Doval said, announcing Mr Modi’s first visit to China since the Galwan clashes.
Foreign Minister Wang arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit on Monday, and held a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who emphasised that the process of withdrawal of troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) needs to “move forward”. Sources said Mr Wang assured Mr Jaishankar that China would address India’s needs for fertilisers, rare earths, and tunnel boring machines.
Referring to the differing perceptions regarding the LAC, Mr Wang recounted the 23rd round of Special Representatives’ meeting that was held on December 18, 2024, in China. “At that meeting, we reached new and important consensus on the management of disagreements, stabilising the borders, and moving toward a settlement. We identified specific goals and formed a new working framework. We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders,” he said.
Mr Wang’s visit has come at a time when India-U.S. relations face trade-related uncertainties, which are being balanced with increased conversations between Russia, India, and China. This Russia-India-China angle will find reflection in Moscow as Mr Jaishankar is expected to reach the Russian capital later this week. The leaders of the three countries are also expected to connect on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin.
Mr Wang referred to the SCO Heads of State Council meeting in Tianjin, for which China had earlier extended an invitation to Mr Modi. “The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister’s visit to China to attend the SCO summit at our invitation. We believe the Indian side will also make contribution to a successful summit in Tianjin. History and reality proved once again that a healthy and stable China-India relationship serves the fundamental long-term interests of both of our countries. It is also what all developing countries wanted to see,” the Chinese Foreign Minister said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
