Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping will meet in China’s Wuhan city for an informal summit to strengthen bilateral ties on April 27 and 28.
“It’s a new landmark in the China and India history,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said at a joint press conference with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing on Sunday.
Swaraj said the summit will provide an opportunity for the two sides to discuss bilateral ties, international matters and improve communication. She said the two leaders will discuss the strengthening of “closer developmental partnership”.
The announcement about Modi’s visit was made after Swaraj held key talks with Wang as the two countries continue efforts to get their relationship back on track following the Doklam face-off. Besides laying the groundwork for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in June, Swaraj and Wang are expected to take stock of bilateral ties.
Modi’s visit to China before the SCO Summit would send a clear signal that both countries are serious about resetting their relations, plagued by multiple festering issues such as a border dispute and damaged further by last year’s military standoff near the Sikkim border.
It will also give an opportunity to Modi and Xi to chart a course for the future as they negotiate old and new differences.
Swaraj, who reached Beijing on Saturday night, is officially here to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meet on Tuesday in the run-up to the bloc’s summit in the coastal city of Qingdao in June. India and Pakistan were admitted to the China-led bloc in 2017.
Her visit to Beijing – the first after Wang’s promotion to the rank of state councillor last month – is being seen as a crucial component in efforts by the two giant neighbours to reboot ties following the considerable cooling due to the Doklam standoff.
During her stay in Beijing, Swaraj is also expected to interact with the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
Diplomatic circles in Beijing have been abuzz with speculation about an official announcement of a bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi ahead of the SCO Summit. National security adviser Ajit Doval’s unannounced visit to China earlier this month had fuelled speculation it was in connection with Modi’s bilateral visit.
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman will also arrive in China on April 23 to take part in the SCO defence ministers’ meeting the next day. Sitharaman is expected to meet her Chinese counterpart Lt Gen Wei Fenghe.
The agenda for the SCO foreign ministers’ meet is broad and covers regional security and terrorism.
“As for the foreign ministers’ meeting on terrorism, I believe it is a purpose of the SCO to promote relevant cooperation in the field,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had told a regular news briefing on Friday.
“Security has been a priority of the SCO since its inception. So the upcoming SCO meeting will see participants exchanging views on the relevant issues. All participants will uphold the SCO spirit to take forward the development of SCO,” she said.
Source: HindustanTimes