External Affairs Minister's Visit To China To Boost Ties

In a significant diplomatic outreach to China, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid an official visit to Beijing to participate in the meeting of the High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges. The visit was primarily aimed at preparing the ground for the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India later this year for the second round of ‘Wuhan’ type informal meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two sides are also commemorating the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship. The legislative enactment in Indian Parliament relating to Jammu and Kashmir also figured in the discussions between the two foreign ministers.

Mr. Jaishankar held talks with the Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan. Both sides discussed the evolving global situation and the larger rebalancing that reflected the rise of India and China as major regional and global powers in the emerging equilibrium.

Although it was the first ever visit to China by the new Indian External Affairs; having been a former Ambassador to China earlier and being an ace China hand himself, China is familiar turf for Mr. Jaishankar.

He held detailed and productive discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. During the deliberations, the Chinese Foreign Minister mentioned the developments pertaining to the legislation passed by the Indian Parliament on Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Minister clearly stated that this was an internal matter for India and the issue related to the changes in a temporary provision of the Constitution of India, which is the sole prerogative of the country. It was further conveyed that the legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development in Jammu and Kashmir and that there was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border.

It was also mentioned that India was not raising any additional territorial claims and that the Chinese concerns in this regard were misplaced. India conveyed that so far as India-China boundary question was concerned, the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the Boundary Question on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles. Responding to the observation of the Chinese Foreign Minister with regard to the purported tension between India and Pakistan, Mr. Jaishankar emphasized that these had no bearing on Pakistan as it was India’s internal matter.

During the discussions, the two sides reiterated that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the Indo-China border areas was essential for the development of bilateral relations. As regards bilateral trade and economic relations, although economic relations had improved; the increase in trade deficit against India was a matter of concern. It was reiterated that the Chinese side should take steps to address this issue by enabling greater access for India's pharmaceutical and IT products and services in China’s domestic markets.

Indian External Affairs Minister articulated that the future of India-China relations will depend on mutual sensitivity to each other's core concerns and it is natural. As both neighbours are large developing economies, there would be issues in the relationship between the two countries. But, differences should not become disputes, as was agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries. This is a reflection of the growing maturity between the two countries.

During the visit, 5 (five) MoUs were also signed between the two countries. These MoUs relate to cooperation in bilateral relations for the year 2020, cooperation in the field of sports, cultural exchanges between National Museum of India and its Chinese counterpart, cooperation between the two countries in the field of traditional medicine, and cooperation between National Museum of India and the Hubei Provincial Museum of China.

Script: Dr. Rupa Narayan Das, Strategic Analyst on Chinese Affairs