New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening in the first highest-level visit between India and China after their ties came under severe strain following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh nearly two years ago.
Wang flew into New Delhi from Kabul on an unannounced visit and he is set to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday morning.
It is learned that the Chinese foreign minister’s visit is more to do with the geopolitical turmoil in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine than the bilateral ties, news agency PTI reported.
Interestingly, there was no official word about Wang’s visit from either the Ministry of External Affairs or the Chinese government. Both sides kept the visit under wraps.
At the Friday talks, the Indian side is unlikely to shift focus from the military standoff in eastern Ladakh as it is expected to press for complete disengagement of troops from all the remaining friction points in the region.
The border issue is likely to figure extensively at the meeting between Wang and Doval as they have been serving as the Special Representatives (SR) for boundary talks between the two countries.
The Ukraine crisis is expected to be the other major issue at the talks. Unlike many other leading powers, India has not criticised Russia yet for its invasion of Ukraine and also abstained from voting at the UN platforms in condemning the Russian attack.
It is also not immediately clear whether the Indian side will facilitate a call on by Wang with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The visit also comes a day after India rejected as uncalled for Wang’s comments referring to Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad.
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