Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Delhi on Thursday, becoming the highest-ranking political leader from Beijing to visit India since the military standoff in Ladakh began two years ago.
Wang is scheduled to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday before he leaves for Nepal.
News 18 reported Wang will meet Doval at 9.30am. “The discussions will be mainly related to issues of global and strategic importance and regional cooperation. The two senior leaders will also discuss the China-India boundary issues. After talks with Doval, Wang will meet Jaishankar at 11 am,” News 18 reported.
Reports said Jaishankar and Wang are likely to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Both India and China have shied away from criticising Russia or supporting western sanctions.
The Hindu reported it was still unclear whether Wang will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before his brief trip ends. The Hindu noted the meeting with Modi is still “under discussion”.
Modi has had no direct contact with the Chinese leadership since the standoff in Ladakh began. Reports have said China is attempting to revive the dialogue with India and set the stage for hosting a summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) in China later this year.
“Beijing has proposed a series of events to kickstart the dialogue, starting with possible high-level visits from both sides. China’s ultimate and clear objective is to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the in-person BRICS summit which will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin as well. China, which also holds the chair for the RIC (Russia-India-China) trilateral this year, could also host the leaders’ summit on the sidelines of the BRICS summit,” The Indian Express reported.
