ChaiNice Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India was very special. Wang, a senior Chinese leader visiting India for the first time since the Galvan conflict in 2020, is one of the few Chinese leaders to be accepted by the Chinese Communist Party leadership, including President Xi Jinping, and the Liberation Army alike. Recall that in addition to being Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang, one of the State Councilors in the Chinese State Council (Central Cabinet), eventually led the Chinese side in special delegation talks formed to resolve the border dispute.
It is also noteworthy that Wang’s visit was not an official invitation. On the contrary, he could not avoid India when he visited Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal as part of his South Asian mission. At the same time, it was noted that after the Galvan conflict, the Chinese leadership was willing to send a senior leader like Wang to Delhi without an official invitation, rather than waiting for a senior Indian leader to visit Beijing.
China’s moves
It’s been two years since both sides deployed troops directly across the border, especially in Ladakh. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
Shi’s desires
At the twentieth party congress of the Chinese Communist Party later this year, Xi Jinping will be re-elected party general secretary for a third time, or may be the newly formed party chairman. Top leaders are opposed to Xi Jinping’s removal of the two – time limit on a two – time general secretary, guaranteed by then – supreme leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1990s, to prevent a dictator like Mao Zedong from re-emerging in the party. At the same time, Xi Jinping knows that no one in the party dares to question him publicly, but he insists that the border areas, including India, must remain calm for his ascent to proceed smoothly. For the same reason, Xi Jinping is personally interested in the success of the 14th BRICS Summit in China. The Indian Prime Minister’s boycott of this important summit of the Chinese – led coalition will be seen as a setback for Xi Jinping at home. Narendra Modi’s presence in the BRICS must have been discussed during Wang’s visit.
Pakistan relations
The visit of Chinese leaders to Pakistan, which plays an important role in China’s geopolitics, is of no particular concern. It is not uncommon for Wang to attend the March 23 meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in Islamabad as a special guest at the invitation of the Pakistani Foreign Minister. However, it is important to note that Wang’s mention of the Kashmir issue in his speech at the OIC came just before his visit to India.
At the international level, China has taken a more or less independent stance, in contrast to the general approach of the world community to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Although not officially recognized by the Taliban, China has agreed to establish good relations with them. The role of Pakistan in this is not small.
China needs to change
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued after the visit that the two countries had agreed to strengthen bilateral ties to improve bilateral relations. China reiterated its position that border disputes should not be an impediment to the overall development of bilateral relations. Even before the Galvan conflict, India was not opposed to this approach despite being aware of its implications.
Peace agreements were signed in 1993, 1996, 2005 and 2012 as a result of years of efforts to maintain peace and tranquility on the border. In violation of this, India changed its position after China invaded Ladakh in 2020 and launched an unprecedented military deployment. Thus, peace on the border became a precondition for the development of bilateral relations. This was not acceptable to China.
Indian Attitudes
In short, credible reports indicate that Jaishankar has openly told Wang that India-China bilateral relations are not normal now and that China needs to make significant changes in its position to bring them back to normal.
By the time Kovid spread in early 2020, about 20,000 Indian students who had been studying medicine in China had returned home. By March of that year, the vast majority of them had had their visas and residence permits revoked. The move was part of their Zero Kovid policy to prevent the spread of Kovid in China from these returning students.
However, students from some countries with good relations with China were later allowed to return, but Indian students are still at a crossroads. When Foreign Minister Jaishankar demanded that such discriminatory measures be withdrawn, Wang said he would only bring the matter to the attention of those concerned at home. China welcomes India’s withdrawal from US position on Ukraine However, the Chinese leadership also knows that Ukraine’s efforts with China to resolve the issue will not be in India’s best interests, but it is true that they will not miss any opportunity to distance India from the US.
(The author has served in various Indian Embassies in China and is a Distinguished Senior Fellow in Defense Research and Studies and a Senior Fellow in the Center for Public Policy Research)
Content Highlights: Wang yi’s India visit
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