- Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s visit to China is the first in five years.
- The Indian side said that they considered China a business partner.
- There is no problem with the Chinese maintaining relations with Pakistan, but it should not come at the cost of undermining India’s security.
Foreign Minister Jaishankar’s visit to China is the first in five years. His visit to China is for the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting. This comes at a time when there is a sense of little normalisation between India and China. This also comes at a time when the direct air services between India and China have become operational, and China has allowed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to be resumed. This also comes at a time when there is a sense of stability at the border, and the friction points on the border have been resolved through diplomacy.
Foreign Minister Jaishankar, in his visit to China, met with the Chinese Foreign Minister and also, on the sidelines, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar reaffirmed that India and China should respect mutual trust, mutual interests, and mutual sensitivity, and differences should be solved through diplomacy, and it should not lead to conflicts and confrontations.
Whereas the Chinese Foreign Minister also said that there should be a dragon-elephant dance, and they also talked about the similarities between Prime Minister Modi’s policy with the Chinese President’s. There was a greater attempt being made to reset the relationship, and the Chinese reiterated the importance of independence from third-party influence.
The Indian side said that they considered China a business partner. Though there is a little normalisation that has been seen between India and China, there is a greater problem that exists between the two. China says that India and China’s relationship should not be decided by a third party, but the third-party factor in India-China relations is the greater differences and China’s close nexus with Pakistan — more importantly, providing it strategic support against India — which is a cause for concern.
As we have seen recently during Operation Sindoor, the Chinese provided military support to Pakistan in the fight against India. This is a big difference between the two countries, and India has to be vocal and should not hesitate in terms of telling China that if there has to be any positivity in India-China relations, that positivity should involve talking about Pakistan. There is no problem with the Chinese maintaining relations with Pakistan, but it should not come at the cost of undermining India’s security.
Aayush Pal is a freelance writer on contemporary geopolitical developments. The views expressed in his work are entirely his own.
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