India-China agree to ‘stabilise and rebuild ties', to start talking economy and trade next
The statement added: 'The two sides agreed to expedite steps involved in resuming direct air services between the two countries. Foreign Secretary hoped for the early conclusion of an updated Air Services Agreement. The two sides further agreed to take practical steps for visa facilitation and exchanges between media and think-tanks.'
'The Foreign Secretary appreciated the Chinese side's cooperation for the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. He noted the discussion in the April 2025 meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism for cooperation in trans-border rivers for resumption of provision of hydrological data and other cooperation, and hoped for progress on them,' the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement Friday.
New Delhi: India and China 'agreed to continue to stabilise and rebuild ties' with a focus on people-centric engagements, at a meeting between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong Thursday. The two sides have also agreed to hold further discussions with specific focus on the economy and trade ties.
Further, Misri and Sun have agreed to hold 'certain functional dialogues' in the areas of trade and the economy to 'resolve specific issues of concern'. This is the second meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism this year. The Indian Foreign Secretary had held a meeting with Sun on 27 January in Beijing, where the two officials agreed to the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and direct air flights between the two countries. Sun is on a two-day visit to India from 12 June till 13 June.
The meeting between Misri and Sun further signals the growing thaw in ties between the two Asian neighbours. A diplomatic chill had set in between India and China in the summer of 2020 following the clashes between the two militaries in Galwan. At the time, Sun was China's ambassador to India.
For India, one of the confidence-building measures (CBMs) and demands from China was the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a demand Beijing has met. The Yatra will resume this year between the months of June and August. This year 750 yatris will be allowed to make the trek to Kailash Mansarovar through the two passes in Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The Yatra had been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
China has been demanding the resumption of direct air services, which India agreed to 'in principle' during the January meeting between Misri and Sun. Technical teams from the two sides are working out the required modalities before the services can resume. China has also called on India to give more visas for Chinese tourists and businesspersons.
Beijing and New Delhi have been working step-by-step to rebuild ties, something that is now significant, given that China is currently amidst a trade war with the US.
The trade war witnessed Beijing institute curbs on exports of certain rare earth elements and magnets, aimed at the US, but it also had the effect of hurting the exports of such critical minerals to India.
'The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, in early April, announced their decision to implement export controls on certain rare-earth related items. We remain in touch with the Chinese side, in Beijing as well as in Delhi, to bring predictability in the supply chain for trade consistent with international practices,' Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said at a regular press briefing Thursday.
With the agreed resumption of certain functional dialogues with regard to the economy and trade, India could find space to raise the growing trade deficits between the two countries, and potentially also raise the issue for better market access for Indian exports to the Chinese markets.
The current reset in ties began in October 2024, when India announced that both countries had reached an agreement to disengage at the friction points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. A few days after the agreement was reached, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan. Since the meeting of the two leaders, a number of dialogue mechanisms between the two countries have resumed functioning.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also Read: Himachal opens Shipki La pass to tourists. Significance of historical link for trade & pilgrimage
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