Foreign secretary Vikram Misri met top Chinese leaders in Beijing on Monday as part of efforts by the two countries to normalise their relations, including addressing priority issues and deepening exchanges in different fields.
Event Context
Misri’s visit follows a meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on July 22 on the margins of ASEAN-related meetings in the Philippines.
Jaishankar emphasised peace and tranquillity in the border areas as a prerequisite for normal ties, and raised New Delhi’s concerns about fair access to Chinese markets, balanced trade and predictability of supply chains.
Misri began his visit to China with a meeting with Sun Haiyan, vice minister of the international department of the central committee of the Communist Party of China.
Days ahead of Misri’s visit, the external affairs ministry had strongly raised sovereignty-related matters and pointed out that the Indian side hasn’t violated China’s sovereignty whereas Beijing continues to illegally occupy territories in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and has built projects in these regions.
India and China are slowly rebuilding their ties after a military stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that lasted more than four years and took bilateral relations to a six-decade low.
Team Analysis
They discussed ways to deepen the implementation of the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping for bilateral relations, including “addressing issues of priority to both sides and by promoting political, people-to-people, academic and think-tank exchanges”, the Indian embassy said in a social media post.
Misri also met Hong Liang, deputy secretary general of the national committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and discussed ways to enhance bilateral exchanges at the political and people-to-people levels.
Following a meeting between Modi and Xi in Russia in October 2024, the two sides resumed the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and restored direct flights. India has also eased visa restrictions for Chinese nationals.
China’s curbs on exports of critical commodities such as rare earth metals, fertilisers and heavy machinery, however, have impacted India over the past two years. New Delhi also has serious concerns about the heavily asymmetric trade with Beijing, and has called for easier access to Chinese markets and steps to address the trade deficit, which recently reached an all-time high of $112 billion. Two-way trade in FY26 was worth $151 billion but India’s exports were valued at only $16.6 billion.
