Wang Yi’s day long visit: Setting stage of pre-2020 bilateral status and BRICS summit

New Delhi, Mar 26: Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi was on a day's visit to New Delhi on Friday during which he held discussions with both Foreign Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval.

The visit was a significant one and is appeared Beijing tried to send a signal to New Delhi that it wants to revive the pre- 2020 bilateral status. Wang Yi also invited Dr Jaishankar and Doval to China. However it is understood that the NSA while appreciating the gesture also said that the issues along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh be resolved first.

The visit should also be seen in the context of the BRICS summit which is being hosted by China this year. The in-person summit will also be attended by Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

In 2017, the BRICS summit was used to resolved the Dolkam border standoff. Further the war in Ukraine also gives China the opportunity to begin dialogue with New Delhi. Further the attendance of India at the BRICS summit also means support for Moscow which has received global condemnation for its military action in Ukraine.

During the meeting with Wang Yi, Doval made it clear that restoration of peace and tranquility will be crucial to build mutual trust and create an environment for progress in relations.

During the meeting, Doval also highlighted the need to continue with positive interactions both on the diplomatic and military levels.

Wang arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening in the highest-level visit between the two countries after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff in eastern Ladakh that began nearly two years ago.

The Chinese foreign minister arrived at Doval's office for talks at around 10 am. The Chinese side also invited Doval to visit China and take forward the mandate of special representatives working on the India-China border resolutions. While responding positively, Doval pointed out that he could visit Beijing only after the immediate issues are resolved

Officials familiar with the development tell OneIndia that the border issue figured prominently in the meeting between Wang and Doval as they have been serving as the Special Representatives (SR) for boundary talks between the two countries.

Doval and Wang held a lengthy telephonic conversation in July 2020 and the talks focused on bringing down tension in eastern Ladakh.

India and China have been holding high-level military talks to resolve the face-off in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. Both sides withdrew troops already from some of the friction points following the talks.

On March 11, India and China held the 15th round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the pending issues in the eastern Ladakh region. However, there was no forward movement in the talks which were aimed at resolving the remaining issues.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.