Sushma Swaraj meets Chinese counterpart, discusses Indo-China ties

Beijing: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday discussed a host of bilateral issues and ways to step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve the relationship.

This was their first meeting after Wang was elevated as state councillor in March 2018 which makes him the top diplomat of the country in the Chinese hierarchy. He also continues to be the foreign minister.

Swaraj arrived in Beijing on Saturday on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). "We will work closely with the Chinese leadership to take India-China cooperation to new heights," Swaraj said 

On his part, Wang said the bilateral ties have witnessed a good development and shown a positive momentum this year under the guidance of the leaders of the two nations. "On the eve of the closing of China's National People's Congress this year, President Xi Jinping received a very important phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi," PTI reported.

He added that the call spurred a positive momentum in the dialogue process between the two countries. "Our two leaders had in-depth exchange of views and reached important consensus on furthering the China-India relationship. We must work very hard to implement the consensus between our two leaders. India's membership to the SCO has expanded the orgainsation's potential and its influence, as well as providing a new platform for the India-China cooperation and I believe that India will make a positive and energetic contribution to the organisation," Wang said. 

Following the Dokalam standoff in 2017 both countries increased dialogue to scale down tensions and improve relations with talks at various levels.

Swaraj and Wang met in the immediate backdrop of the recent meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and top official of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Yang Jiechi in Shanghai. 

Together we prosper! EAM @SushmaSwaraj and State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi discussed all aspects of our bilateral relationship to strengthen India-China multifaceted engagement. pic.twitter.com/rALF4WFPYf — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 22, 2018

EAM @SushmaSwaraj : I conveyed our appreciation to the Chinese side for their confirmation on resumption of data sharing on Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers in 2018. pic.twitter.com/36SnzkRyOE — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 22, 2018

PM Modi to visit China from Apr 27-28 for summit talks with Prez Xi 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold an informal summit in China's Wuhan city from April 27 to 28 to exchange views on bilateral and international matters and to enhance mutual communication between the two leaders, Wang announced on Sunday.

PM Modi will be visiting the central Chinese city at the invitation of President Xi, Wang said at a joint media event with Swaraj after their talks. "The two leaders will have communications of a strategic nature concerning the once in a century shifts going on in the world. They will also exchange views on overarching long-term and strategic matters concerning the future of China-India relations," Wang said.

"The informal summit will be an important occasion for them to exchange views on bilateral and international matters from an over-arching and long-term perspective with the objective of enhancing mutual communication at the level of leaders," Swaraj said.

(With PTI inputs)