India and China on Monday agreed on a host of initiatives to improve their relations, with New Delhi emphasising that the future of the ties will depend on the mutual sensitivity to each other’s “core concerns” to ensure that any bilateral differences should not become disputes.
Making his first visit to China after taking over office, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held candid talks with top Chinese leaders.
His three-day visit to China comes amid spiralling tensions between India and Pakistan over the revocation of special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
Before he settled for a structured talk with his counterpart Wang Yi, Jaishankar met the tough-talking Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, a close confidant of President Xi Jinping, at the picturesque residential complex Zhongnanhai, where China’s top leaders reside.
He held a frank discussion with Wang Qishan about the state of the bilateral ties in the context of China’s concerns over the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories. After India revoked Article 370 last week, China issued two separate statements outlining its position on Ladakh and J&K.
In one statement, China objected to the formation of Ladakh as a Union Territory by India, saying it undermined its territorial sovereignty.
After his meeting with Wang Qishan, Jaishankar held talks with Wang Yi — first at restricted delegation-level meeting followed by full-fledged delegation-level talks spanning over several hours.
At the end of the talks, both Jaishankar and Wang made candid remarks at the 4th India-China media summit where they announced a host of initiatives to boost ties ahead of Xi’s visit to India later this year. “It is natural, both as neighbours and large developing economies, that there would be issues in our ties. Properly managing differences is therefore vital. As our leaders agreed in Astana, differences should not become disputes. That is how India-China relations can remain a factor of stability in an uncertain world,” Jaishankar said.
The positive direction of ties after the Wuhan Summit has opened up a world of new convergences, he said, referring to the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi last year.
“Exploiting this and taking our ties to a new level will require strong public support in both societies. The media can make a major contribution to that goal,” he said.