Team Blitz India
EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong on June 25 and highlighted the need for “stabilisation and progress” in IndiaChina relations. This was the first meeting between Jaishankar and Xu, who arrived in New Delhi last month. The meeting was held against the backdrop of the dragging military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that is now into its fifth year.
“Discussed our bilateral relationship and our common interest in its stabilisation and progress,” Jaishankar said in a post on X after his meeting with Xu. Xu, in a separate post on X, said he and Jaishankar had exchanged views on bilateral relations and “other issues of common interest”.
Without any reference to the standoff on the LAC, Xu added: “Look forward to working with the Indian side to push forward the development of China-India relations towards the right direction.” Since his arrival in New Delhi, Xu has said several times that he will work to improve the relationship with India. India has maintained that the overall relationship with China cannot be normalised without peace and tranquillity on the border. The face-off in the Ladakh sector of the LAC has taken bilateral ties to a six-decade low.
On the other hand, China has contended that the border issue should be put in its “appropriate place” in the overall relationship while the two sides move forward in areas such as trade and investment.
Among world leaders, the Chinese President Xi Jinping is the only one to have not send good wishes to Modi on his re-election. The Chinese Premier Li Qiang did send good wishes after Modi’s inauguration.
