Jaishankar's China Visit Post-Galwan Clashes: Focus on Mansarovar Yatra and Normalizing Ties
Beijing (The Uttam Hindu) : India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing on Monday. During this, he emphasized on normalizing India-China relations and said that this can give "mutually beneficial" results to both the countries. He described open dialogue and exchange of views as important as neighboring countries and major global economies.
The Foreign Minister also met Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev in Beijing on Monday. He wrote in the post, "It was a pleasure to meet SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev in Beijing today. The contribution and importance of the SCO as well as efforts to modernize its functioning were discussed." Jaishankar has arrived in China on a three-day visit, where he will attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers in Tianjin. As soon as he reached Beijing, he met the Chinese Vice President.
At the beginning of the meeting, Jaishankar said, "Our bilateral relations have been steadily improving since the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan in October last year. I am confident that my discussions during this visit will maintain this positive direction." On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of India-China diplomatic relations this year, Jaishankar described the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as an important step. This journey was closed for five years due to the Kovid-19 epidemic and border tensions. He said, "The resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is being highly appreciated in India. The continued normalization of our relations can be beneficial for both countries." Commenting on the global situation, Jaishankar said, "Today's global situation is very complex. Open dialogue between India and China as neighboring countries and major economies is very important."
After the meeting, Jaishankar wrote on Twitter, "Glad to meet Vice President Han Zheng soon after arriving in Beijing. I expressed India's support for China's SCO chairmanship. Underlined the improvement in our bilateral relations and expressed confidence that the discussions of this visit will maintain a positive direction." This is Jaishankar's first visit to China after the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which had greatly affected the relations between the two countries. Although during this time he has been meeting his Chinese counterpart on multilateral forums, but this visit is an important step of high-level diplomatic contact amid the border dispute.
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