Beijing/New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who is in Beijing for talks under the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism, met with the head of the International Department of the ruling Communist Party of China Central Committee Liu Jianchao on Sunday.
Misri, India’s former ambassador to China, and Liu exchanged views on jointly implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthening exchanges and dialogues, and promoting the improvement and healthy and stable development of China-India relations, as well as international and regional issues of common concern, Global Times reported.
Misri is to meet Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who formerly served as Chinese Ambassador to India from 2019 to 2022.
The two sides are to discuss issues including the resumption of direct flights between India and China, issuance of visas, particularly for businesspersons and journalists, and ironing out trade issues.
On January 24, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning had said: “We welcome Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri’s trip to China for the meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between China and India.”
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said on Friday that all issues of mutual interest will be discussed during Foreign Secretary Misri’s China visit.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, said at a briefing. “Foreign Secretary will be meeting his counterpart, the Vice Minister in China, where all issues of bilateral interest will be discussed.
“This meeting flows from the understanding that the leaders reached in Kazan and subsequent to that we’ve had meetings of the special representatives and we’ve had foreign minister level meeting as well. So, once the discussions and talks happen you will get a readout of what issues were discussed. But all issues of mutual interest will be discussed.”
The visit of FS Misri to China comes more than a month after the December 18 meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for the India, China Special Representatives meeting during which they discussed a range of issues, including management of peace and tranquillity along the LAC.
On October 23 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in Kazan, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, endorsed the agreement reached between the two sides on patrolling and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control.
Following the October 21 agreement, the two countries completed troop disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh.
In November External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and noted that the implementation of the October 21 agreement between both nations on disengagement at the LAC has proceeded as planned.
Speaking at an event in November, EAM said: “After this there is the de-escalation, which means the massing of troops along the LAC and all the associated developments along with that. Linked with that are the other aspects of the relationship.”
The FS’ visit also comes amid reports that China is to build the world’s largest dam on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau, located in the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) or Brahmaputra river, at a cost of $137 billion.
