NEW DELHI: India and China agreed on Monday to ramp up "strategic communication" between the governments, and significantly, to be mindful of each other's "sensitivities".
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the RIC ministerial here, which was Wang's first visit to India after the Doklam crisis seared bilateral ties earlier this year. Addressing journalists later, Swaraj said, "We had a frank and forward-looking exchange on a wide-range of issues."
"Foreign minister Wang Yi and I agreed that we should further strengthen our mutual trust to develop a better understanding between the two parties. And it will be better to meet again and without agenda, which will help us to expand our mutual understanding," she said.
"Forward-looking" is the new mantra between India and China in the post-Doklam phase of relations. Sources at the meeting confirmed that both leaders acknowledged that as two rising powers, India and China would occasionally rub up against each other. Officials, however, described the meeting as "positive" as "frank" which is diplomatese for both sides airing their respective concerns. But they would try to avoid allowing "differences from becoming disputes". This was a line agreed between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana at the height of the Doklam crisis. It was also repeated by New Delhi when Chinese officials were engaged in a collective rant against India during those two months.
Sources said the Indian side did a lot more plain-speaking, as did the Chinese. Wang asked Delhi to drop its opposition to the Belt & Road Initiative, but India insisted on the sovereignty issue. India asked China to roll back its support to terrorists like Masood Azhar.
It was agreed upon during the discussions on the need to resolve and manage "situations" when they arose. "For this, India and China have decided to increase the number of official and ministerial dialogue across the spectrum," sources said. The next high-level talks will be on the border row between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese special envoy Yang Jiechi.
The discussions didn't seek to resolve outstanding issues between the two sides. The big ones on NSG or CPEC are unlikely to be solved.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the RIC ministerial here, which was Wang's first visit to India after the Doklam crisis seared bilateral ties earlier this year. Addressing journalists later, Swaraj said, "We had a frank and forward-looking exchange on a wide-range of issues."
"Foreign minister Wang Yi and I agreed that we should further strengthen our mutual trust to develop a better understanding between the two parties. And it will be better to meet again and without agenda, which will help us to expand our mutual understanding," she said.
"Forward-looking" is the new mantra between India and China in the post-Doklam phase of relations. Sources at the meeting confirmed that both leaders acknowledged that as two rising powers, India and China would occasionally rub up against each other. Officials, however, described the meeting as "positive" as "frank" which is diplomatese for both sides airing their respective concerns. But they would try to avoid allowing "differences from becoming disputes". This was a line agreed between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana at the height of the Doklam crisis. It was also repeated by New Delhi when Chinese officials were engaged in a collective rant against India during those two months.
Sources said the Indian side did a lot more plain-speaking, as did the Chinese. Wang asked Delhi to drop its opposition to the Belt & Road Initiative, but India insisted on the sovereignty issue. India asked China to roll back its support to terrorists like Masood Azhar.
It was agreed upon during the discussions on the need to resolve and manage "situations" when they arose. "For this, India and China have decided to increase the number of official and ministerial dialogue across the spectrum," sources said. The next high-level talks will be on the border row between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese special envoy Yang Jiechi.
The discussions didn't seek to resolve outstanding issues between the two sides. The big ones on NSG or CPEC are unlikely to be solved.
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