Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held his first meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, on Thursday on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Delhi, in an attempt to lower the temperature at the border and normalise bilateral relations.
Sino-Indian relations have been severely strained for the past three years since the standoff between the two armies at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in May 2020.
India has held China’s unilateral attempt to change the status quo at the LAC responsible for disturbing the peace that had existed at the frontier for years.
The Chinese attempt, which was resisted by Indian troops, had led to the first violent clash between the two sides at the LAC in decades, and the death of more than 20 soldiers on each side.
Since then both countries have undertaken heavy deployment of troops at the border.
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Qin Gang replaced Wang Yi after the Chinese Party Congress last October. Wang has now been elevated, and is the chief advisor to Chinese President Xi Jinping on matters related to foreign affairs.
The meeting may not only be an attempt to get relations back on track, but also to lay the groundwork for a summit meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during or before the September G20 summit in Delhi.
At their 45-minute meeting, Jaishankar said Sino-Indian relations were “abnormal” and needed to be discussed “openly and candidly” by the two sides.
His reference was certainly to the standoff at the border between the Indian and Chinese armies.
The situation at the border has affected the overall bilateral relations between the two countries and halted their cooperation in a number of areas of mutual benefit.
Qin said that “as neighbouring countries and major emerging economies, China and India have many more common interests than differences.”
He added that the situation on the borders should be brought under “normalised management” as soon as possible.
The Chinese Foreign Minister went on to say that “the development and revitalisation of China and India demonstrates the strength of developing countries, which will change the future of a third of the world’s population, and the future of Asia and of the world.”
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Much of the rhetoric used by Qin during the meeting is familiar to Indian leaders. The Chinese side has often used such language, especially when they are keen on normalising ties.
Qin said the two sides should implement the consensus reached during talks between Xi and Modi and should resolve disputes through dialogue, and promote the improvement of bilateral relations.
The Chinese foreign minister pointed out that the two sides have a shared interest in safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries and in promoting South-South cooperation, while meeting the challenge of climate change.
Qin said China was keen to speed up resumption of flights and facilitate people-to-people exchange.
The Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Jaishankar as saying that as “two great ancient civilizations and important partners,” the two countries can achieve positive results in economic and trade cooperation.
Jaishankar was also quoted as saying that bilateral relations should be understood and improved from a historical and strategic perspective, and more platforms should be established to promote bilateral relations.
According to the Chinese statement, the Indian Foreign Minister said the current situation on the border was “gradually stabilising” and both sides should work together to maintain peace in the border areas.
India has maintained that the improvement in bilateral relations was dependent on the improvement of the situation at the LAC.
The two sides have held several rounds of talks both at the diplomatic and military levels to complete their disengagement from all the “flash points” along the LAC, especially in eastern Ladakh.
Last month, an Indian team led by the Ministry of External Affairs officials had visited Beijing to discuss steps that will lead to the early disengagement of troops from all the areas.
To that end, a meeting between Xi and Modi has often been speculated in diplomatic circles in recent months.
Their last meeting was in October 2019, when President Xi visited Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu for an informal summit.
But ever since the brawl at the border three years back, the Indian side has avoided a meeting at the highest political level.
However, Modi and Xi shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at the Bali G20 summit, leading to widespread speculation about a possible thaw in bilateral relations.
As the host of the G20 summit, the Indian Prime Minister is expected to hold a series of meetings with visiting leaders.
Whether his meeting with the Chinese President remains informal and brief, or turns into a proper bilateral engagement on the lines of the face-to-face encounter between US President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping before the Bali summit last November, will depend on the prevailing situation along the LAC.
Modi and Jaishankar both have often been criticised by the main opposition — the Congress party, for buckling under Chinese pressure.
Since the G20 summit in September will be in the middle of the run up to the parliamentary elections of 2024, the Prime Minister and his close aides will be extremely careful about sending out the right message to both the domestic audience and external observers.
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