Ajit Doval visits China, bid to repair ties

New Delhi/Beijing: In an indication that India is moving fast to repair ties with China, the external affairs ministry said on Friday that national security adviser Ajit Doval had visited China on Thursday and Friday. Speculation is rife that several issues could have been discussed during the visit, including ways to avoid Sino-Indian military faceoffs like the one at Doklam in Bhutanese territory last year, India’s efforts to gain entry into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG), efforts to get Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM’s chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, and New Delhi’s request to Hong Kong for the provisional arrest of PNB scam accused Nirav Modi. China is stonewalling India’s moves on NSG entry and Masood Azhar issues.

Mr Doval held talks Friday with a top official of China’s ruling Communist Party, Yang Jiechi, in Shanghai when both sides agreed to maintain the pace of high-level exchanges after last year’s Doklam standoff. Mr Doval’s visit was “part of regular high-level engagements between India and China,” an Indian embassy press release said in Beijing. Mr Yang Jiechi is a member of the politburo and director of the foreign affairs commission of the CPC central committee.

“The visit was part of regular high-level engagements between India and China. The discussions covered a wide agenda spanning bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two sides agreed to maintain the pace of high-level exchanges, with a view to fully realise the potential of Closer Development Partnership between India and China,” the MEA said.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman are due to be in Beijing on April 24 to attend different meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and interact with their counterparts on the sidelines.

The eight-member SCO, in which India is the latest entrant along with Pakistan, is due to hold its summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao in June, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to take part and hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two officials met in Shanghai instead of Beijing as Mr Yang preferred to hold it there as he is on his way back from China’s Hainan province after attending the Boao Forum for Asia, official sources said.

Both Mr Doval and Mr Yang are special representatives for India-China boundary talks representing their respective countries. This is the second meeting between Mr Doval and Mr Yang after the Doklam standoff.