If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
Sun Weidong is an expert on South Asia who worked closely with external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Weidong said India and China "should live in peace and avoid conflicts."
'We remain in touch with the Chinese side, in Beijing as well as in Delhi, to bring predictability in the supply chain.'
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong has said peace and tranquility in the border areas with India is important but it is not the "whole story" of the bilateral relations and that the current status of the ties is obviously not in the fundamental interest of either side, remarks that came amid the Ladakh military standoff.
The 17 rare earth elements that are at the centre of the current crisis are critical components of everyday products -- from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs.
In the talks, China emphasised that the two sides should proceed from the fundamental interests of China, India and adhere to the strategic height and long-term perspective of China-India relations, the readout said.
The foreign ministry's statement came amidst the reported visit of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to Pakistan on a mediation mission.
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
The Australian High Commissioner had said Australia remains deeply concerned by Chinese actions in the South China Sea that are 'destabilising and could provoke escalation'. In a tweet, the Chinese envoy took objection to his remarks and said they were made 'disregarding facts'.
China's state-run Sichuan Airlines has suspended all its cargo flights to India for 15 days, causing major disruption to private traders' efforts to procure the much-needed oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies from the country despite Beijing reiterating its readiness to help India to deal with the latest surge of COVID-19 cases.
"Some steps are required for full normalcy, we have not reached there," Bagchi said.
In remarks titled 'Implement Consensus and Handle Differences Properly to Bring China-India Relations Back on the Right Track' posted on the Chinese embassy website, Sun spoke of disruptions in the bilateral relationship and outlined five steps to clarify 'some fundamental points'.
Narendra Modi also conveyed to Xi his appreciation for facilitating evacuation of around 650 Indian citizens from the Hubei province last week.
As China's Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pakistan on a mediation mission, a statement from Foreign Ministry on Monday said it is maintaining close contacts with Pakistan and Iran to 'bridge their differences'.
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Taiwan on Sunday expressed gratitude to India and several other countries for their calls for exercising restrain and avoiding unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in the face of China's belligerent military posturing following United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said India and China are able to properly manage their differences, and called upon New Delhi to avoid taking actions that may 'complicate' the situation in eastern Ladakh.
Government sources also said there was no question of any discussion on the issue as it is India's sovereign matter but added that Modi will update the Chinese President on the matter if there is a query.
The US president previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, a proposal rejected by New Delhi which maintains that there is no role for any third party in bilateral issues.
The only way to resolve the current military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was for Beijing to realise that trying to 'change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion, is not the right way forward', India's ambassador to China Vikram Misri said in a hard-hitting interview to PTI.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Chennai to a grand welcome on Friday, a visit that comes soon after the recent episode of turbulence in bilateral ties over India's decision to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and reorganise the state into two union territories.
The Indian nationals, mostly students, research scholars and professionals are working in Indian and international companies in the Chinese province.
The Summit will take bilateral relations to a higher level and have a major and positive impact on regional and world peace, stability and development, Sun said.
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
The Wednesday talks took place amid a war of words between the two sides on perception of the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border spanning a length of nearly 3,500 km.
'And this mirror imaging is the most dangerous thing because it leads to tremendous misunderstandings.'
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
'We are beginning to see that the rest of the world will not simply accept the domination of one power'
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
New Delhi must clearly demonstrate to Beijing that China will pay a price for its relentless strategic undermining of India, says Ajai Shukla.
India has told China not to "shift goalposts" and "confuse" managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms.
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
