Misri to meet Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, discuss resumption of travel, visa, and Mansarovar yatra; trade issues and concerns over hydropower project may come up
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing on Sunday (January 26, 2025), in another indication that India and China are reviving all dialogue mechanisms after the four-year break over the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The meeting follows the October 21 agreement to end the stalemate at the LAC, which was ratified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in Russia, and was followed by meetings between the Foreign Ministers and the Defence Ministers of the two countries. The Special Representatives on the Boundary Question — National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi — also met in Beijing last month.
Mr. Misri, who served as India’s Ambassador to Beijing (2019-2021) and Deputy National Security Adviser (2021-2024), will meet Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who was his counterpart as Chinese Ambassador to India (2019-2022).
Key issues
Among issues expected to be discussed are the resumption of direct flights between India and China, which remain suspended since the pandemic; issuance of visas particularly for businesspersons and journalists; ironing out trade issues; and arrangements for the resumption of the Mansarovar Yatra for pilgrims.
“The resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement, indicating that the talks are part of the revival of regular dialogue.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the visit thus far. On Tuesday (January 21, 2025), the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said that India and China must “deliver” on the understandings reached between Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi.
“We need to view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, bring the relations back to the track of healthy and stable development, and find the right path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing, in response to remarks by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that the two sides were still trying to “disentangle themselves from the complications” of the 2020 stand-off, when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army aggressed along the LAC.
Mr. Misri will be in Beijing on January 26 and 27. He will leave after the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, where Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest, said officials.
The Foreign Secretary’s visit comes just before the Chinese New Year holidays that begin on January 28. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong is already in Beijing, understood to be in preparation for the visit.
At a reception for the New Year in Delhi this week, Chinese Charge d’Affaires Wang Lei said that India and China would hold “dozens” of celebratory events to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. He also pointed out that India-China economic exchanges had grown 2% in the past year, with trade figures reaching $126.6 billion in the first 11 months of 2024 and 2,80,000 visas being issued by China during the year.
Considerable tensions
However, the two sides have also faced considerable tensions over economic and visa issues, with recent reports suggesting that Chinese manufacturers were withholding technology and exports to India, including for Tunnel Boring Machines manufactured in China and Germany. Beijing has also been asking New Delhi to issue more visas and facilitate travel links.
Despite a declaration after a meeting between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Wang in November 2024 over resumption of visas, flights, and the Mansarovar Yatra for pilgrims, there has been little movement on the ground on these issues thus far. In addition, a Chinese hydropower project on the upper riparian area of the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung Zangpo in Tibet) has caused concerns about flooding downstream.
“We must convey that any reset in ties would require a lot of hard work because accumulated anxieties remain, both on border issues as well as economic issues,” former Ambassador to China (2014-2016) Ashok Kantha told The Hindu.
“The Army chief has himself said that the border is not so far normal, and we cannot revert to business-as-usual conversations on resumption of travel and visas without progress on the border,” he said, adding that India must take up concerns over the hydropower project “more seriously” during Mr. Misri’s visit.
Significantly, the visit to Beijing by Mr. Misri comes days after the visit to Washington by Mr. Jaishankar, where the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting.
On Wednesday (January 22, 2025), China reacted to the Quad joint statement that opposed “coercion” in the Indo-Pacific, with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying “group politics… is not conducive to peace and stability” and any multilateral cooperation “should not target any third party”.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to visit China on January 26
Misri to meet Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, discuss resumption of travel, visa, and Mansarovar yatra; trade issues and concerns over hydropower project may come up
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will travel to Beijing on Sunday (January 26, 2025), in another indication that India and China are reviving all dialogue mechanisms after the four-year break over the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The meeting follows the October 21 agreement to end the stalemate at the LAC, which was ratified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in Russia, and was followed by meetings between the Foreign Ministers and the Defence Ministers of the two countries. The Special Representatives on the Boundary Question — National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi — also met in Beijing last month.
Mr. Misri, who served as India’s Ambassador to Beijing (2019-2021) and Deputy National Security Adviser (2021-2024), will meet Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who was his counterpart as Chinese Ambassador to India (2019-2022).
Key issues
Among issues expected to be discussed are the resumption of direct flights between India and China, which remain suspended since the pandemic; issuance of visas particularly for businesspersons and journalists; ironing out trade issues; and arrangements for the resumption of the Mansarovar Yatra for pilgrims.
“The resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic, and people-to-people domains,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement, indicating that the talks are part of the revival of regular dialogue.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the visit thus far. On Tuesday (January 21, 2025), the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said that India and China must “deliver” on the understandings reached between Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi.
“We need to view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, bring the relations back to the track of healthy and stable development, and find the right path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing, in response to remarks by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that the two sides were still trying to “disentangle themselves from the complications” of the 2020 stand-off, when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army aggressed along the LAC.
Mr. Misri will be in Beijing on January 26 and 27. He will leave after the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, where Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest, said officials.
The Foreign Secretary’s visit comes just before the Chinese New Year holidays that begin on January 28. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong is already in Beijing, understood to be in preparation for the visit.
At a reception for the New Year in Delhi this week, Chinese Charge d’Affaires Wang Lei said that India and China would hold “dozens” of celebratory events to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. He also pointed out that India-China economic exchanges had grown 2% in the past year, with trade figures reaching $126.6 billion in the first 11 months of 2024 and 2,80,000 visas being issued by China during the year.
Considerable tensions
However, the two sides have also faced considerable tensions over economic and visa issues, with recent reports suggesting that Chinese manufacturers were withholding technology and exports to India, including for Tunnel Boring Machines manufactured in China and Germany. Beijing has also been asking New Delhi to issue more visas and facilitate travel links.
Despite a declaration after a meeting between Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Wang in November 2024 over resumption of visas, flights, and the Mansarovar Yatra for pilgrims, there has been little movement on the ground on these issues thus far. In addition, a Chinese hydropower project on the upper riparian area of the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung Zangpo in Tibet) has caused concerns about flooding downstream.
“We must convey that any reset in ties would require a lot of hard work because accumulated anxieties remain, both on border issues as well as economic issues,” former Ambassador to China (2014-2016) Ashok Kantha told The Hindu.
“The Army chief has himself said that the border is not so far normal, and we cannot revert to business-as-usual conversations on resumption of travel and visas without progress on the border,” he said, adding that India must take up concerns over the hydropower project “more seriously” during Mr. Misri’s visit.
Significantly, the visit to Beijing by Mr. Misri comes days after the visit to Washington by Mr. Jaishankar, where the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting.
On Wednesday (January 22, 2025), China reacted to the Quad joint statement that opposed “coercion” in the Indo-Pacific, with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson saying “group politics… is not conducive to peace and stability” and any multilateral cooperation “should not target any third party”.
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