Wang Yi to be China's new special representative for border talks with India

BEIJING: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be the new special representative for India-China boundary talks.

Wang's appointment was confirmed today when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who held bilateral talks with her Chinese counterpart congratulated him for being elevated as the state councillor and appointed as the special representative for the India-China boundary talks.

Wang, 64, succeeds his senior colleague Yang Jiechi who has now become a politburo member of the Communist Party of China's (CPC).

Wang was elevated as state councillor last month which makes him the top diplomat of the country in the Chinese hierarchy.

He will be the first Chinese official in recent years who will hold the dual posts of State Councillor and Foreign Minister.

State Councillor is designated as the Special Representative of the India-China boundary talks.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is India's Special Representative.

Special Representatives oversee all aspects of India-China relations besides the boundary issues and periodically review progress of bilateral ties.

The two countries have so far held 20 rounds of talks to resolve the boundary dispute and worked out different mechanisms to keep peace along the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Doval and Yang met in Shanghai on April 13 during which they reported to have finalised the contours of the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping to be held in China's Wuhan city on April 27-28.

A suave and seasoned carrier diplomat Wang has emerged as China's most influential Chinese diplomat with strong backing of President Xi.

Xi himself has become the most powerful leader after Parliament last month removed the two-term limit for President paving the way for his continuation in power for life.

Since he took over power in 2012, Xi has been giving top priority to diplomacy as China seeks to spread its influence globally after its emerges as world's second largest economy.

In his opening remarks during the meeting with Swaraj, Wang said the bilateral ties have witnessed good development and shown a positive momentum this year under the guidance of the leaders of the two nations.

Swaraj and Wang discussed a host of bilateral issues and ways to step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve the relationship.

She arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) from tomorrow.