New Delhi: China has promised to address three key concerns raised by India, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi assuring External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Beijing is working to meet New Delhi’s needs for fertilizers, rare earths, and tunnel-boring machines, according to sources.
Ahead of the 24th round of boundary discussions with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today, Wang Yi, who arrived yesterday evening, held talks with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
The two ministers last met in Beijing, where they held a bilateral on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting last month.
During the meeting, Jaishankar underlined that the “de-escalation process” must move forward.
Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Wang is in India for a two-day visit, his first since India and China completed the disengagement process along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in November last year, and just days ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s likely first visit to China in seven years.
According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Wang said that because “unilateral bullying is prevalent,” the two sides should “contribute to promoting the multipolarisation of the world.” Wang added that China and India should “regard each other as partners and opportunities, not as opponents or threats.”
PM Modi is expected to visit China and hold meetings with President Xi Jinping later this month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
In his opening remarks, Jaishankar acknowledged that India and China had come through a “difficult period in our relationship, our two nations now seek to move ahead,” and that this required “a candid and constructive approach from both sides.”
He reiterated that ties have to be guided by “three mutuals: mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. Differences must not become disputes, nor competition conflict.”
Jaishankar spelt out what he hoped the Chinese foreign minister’s visit would achieve, “It is our expectation that our discussions would contribute to building a stable, cooperative and forward-looking relationship between India and China, one that serves both our interests and addresses our concerns.”
