After disengagement, India and China agree on next steps to normalise ties | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: With disengagement at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh having proceeded without a hitch, India and China focused on taking the next steps in normalising Sino-Indian ties as external affairs minister S Jaishankar met his counterpart Wang Yi in Rio on the margins of the G20 summit.
According to an Indian readout, the steps discussed – in what was the first high-level meeting since PM Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping in Kazan on October 23 and endorsed the disengagement agreement reached days earlier – included resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers, resumption of direct flights and media exchanges.
“In Kazan, our leaders reached a consensus on taking next steps on our relationship, bearing in mind the understanding of 21 October. I am glad to note that on the ground, the implementation of that understanding has proceeded as planned,” said Jaishankar in the meeting with Wang. Interestingly, Jaishankar did not use the word agreement that Indian officials had used earlier while describing the LAC patrolling arrangements leading to disengagement. China has also not used the word agreement so far but has called it a resolution.
While talking about the importance of the resumption of ties following the “successful” Kazan meeting for not just the people of India and China but also the Global South, Wang called for sending more “positive signals” like facilitating visas as soon as possible, enhancing trust and nursing “less suspicion”. The Chinese foreign ministry said separately that the relationship is now at a new starting point.
The Indian government also said the ministers recognized that the disengagement in border areas had contributed to the maintenance of peace and tranquillity which India sees as essential for normalisation of the relationship. Both sides agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives on the Boundary Question and of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will take place soon.
“The two Ministers felt that it was imperative that the focus should be on stabilizing ties, managing differences and taking the next steps,’’ said the Indian government.
According to the Indian government, Jaishankar told Wang that India is strongly committed to a multipolar world, including a multipolar Asia, as he noted the contributions by both India and China to BRICS and G20 formats and in shaping their eventual outcomes. “Where India is concerned, its foreign policy has been principled and consistent, marked by independent thought and action. We are against unilateral approaches to establish dominance,’’ said the Indian minister, adding India does not view its relationships through the prism of other nations amid concerns in Beijing about India’s growing ties with the US.
On the global situation and international issues, Jaishankar noted that India and China have both differences and convergences, while underlining constructive cooperation in not just Brics and the SCO framework but also G20. The Chinese readout quoted Jaishankar as saying consensus between India and China far outweighs the differences and that the 2 sides should view bilateral relations from a strategic perspective.
“The two sides should implement the important consensus reached by the leaders, respect each other’s core interests, enhance mutual trust through dialogue and communication, and properly handle differences with sincerity and good faith, so as to push the bilateral relations back to the track of stable and healthy development as soon as possible,” said Wang.