Judging by the statements and readouts from both sides, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s two-day visit to India this week was extremely productive. While Mr. Wang was in Delhi at the invitation of NSA Ajit Doval for the 24th Special Representatives talk on the boundary question, he also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for bilateral talks and the normalisation process after the four-year military standoff at the Line of Actual Control. Mr. Wang was also received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said that he would travel to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. Mr. Modi will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In Delhi, India and China agreed to resume border trade at three points, restart direct flights, expand the Kailash Manasarovar yatra slots for pilgrims and relax visas. While there were positive discussions on the lifting of export restrictions by China on fertilizers, rare earth products and boring machinery, it is unclear whether there was headway on China’s demand that India lift its scrutiny of Chinese FDI in Indian companies. The two sides agreed to expedite the process of boundary resolution of the 3,500 km India-China border. Significantly, the Modi government agreed to build on the 2005 agreement of Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the India-China Boundary Question. Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong said that China opposes the U.S.’s “bully” move of imposing 50% tariffs on India.
The outcomes indicate that Delhi has decided it can now “move ahead” from the PLA transgressions, Galwan clashes and the standoff. While Mr. Doval said that the “borders have been quiet”, the government was made uncomfortably aware that even with a stable border, other long-standing problems will continue to shadow ties. Mr. Wang later left for Kabul to work with Pakistan and the Taliban on a plan to extend the BRI and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — India is opposed to both — into Afghanistan. He then flew to Islamabad for a strategic dialogue with his Pakistani counterparts. China’s diplomatic support to Pakistan after the Pahalgam attacks and during Operation Sindoor did not come up during Mr. Wang’s visit, but provide an ominous overhang to ties, as did Ambassador Xu’s contention that Pakistan too is a victim of terrorism. While the U.S.’s attack on Indian trade and economy may be spurring New Delhi’s efforts, the reset with China must not come from a perceived position of weakness, and the next steps must be taken keeping in focus the strategic challenge.
