After Doval, Foreign Secretary Misri to visit China from January 26

Last week, NSA Ajit Doval travelled to Beijing and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi under the framework of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary dispute.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri (Photo | PTI)
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NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing on a two-day trip beginning Sunday as the two Asian countries try to noramlaise their relationship that had been strained due to tensions along their border since 2020.

However, New Delhi and Beijing reached a significant agreement in last October to reduce military tensions along their Himalayan border.

After the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia, both countries have started taking small steps and confidence-building measures to restore their ties.

Misri’s visit will be second high level interaction with China in less than two months. National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval travelled to Beijing last month and held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi under the framework of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary dispute.

"Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will be visiting Beijing on January 26 and 27 for a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between India and China," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

"The resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains," the statement said.

The decision to resume the Special Representative (SR) talks and other similar dialogue mechanisms were made during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia on October 23, 2024.

Modi emphasised the importance of addressing differences and disputes in a way that does not disturb peace and tranquility in border areas. This meeting took place two days after India and China finalized a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.

During the SR dialogue, India advocated for a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution to the overall boundary dispute.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese diplomat Wang Yi also focused on fostering a "positive" trajectory for cross-border cooperation, including resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, sharing river data, and facilitating border trade.

Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the India-China relationship is trying to disentangle itself from the complications arising from the post-2020 border situation and more thought needs to be given to the longer-term evolution of the ties.

"At a time when most of its relationships are moving forward, India confronts a particular challenge in establishing an equilibrium with China. Much of that arises from the fact that both nations are on the rise," he had said.

Taking note of the External Affairs Minister’s statement, India and China should handle the bilateral ties from a “strategic height and long-term perspective” while implementing the common understanding reached by the leaders of the two countries.

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