EAM Swaraj meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, discusses Sino-India ties

BEIJING: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and discussed a host of bilateral issues and ways to step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve the relationship.

Swaraj arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

She was received by Wang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing ahead of their bilateral meeting.

This was their first meeting after Wang was elevated as state councillor last month which makes him the top diplomat of the country in the Chinese hierarchy. He also continues to be the foreign minister.

In her initial remarks, Swaraj congratulated Wang on being elevated as state councillor and appointed the special representative for the India-China boundary talks.

"This shows how much trust your leadership has in your abilities.....and I think your new responsibilities will improve India-China relations," she said.

"We will work closely with the Chinese leadership to take India-China cooperation to new heights," she said.

Wang said the bilateral ties have witnessed a good development and shown a positive momentum this year under the guidance of the leaders of the two nations. 

"On the eve of the closing of China's National People's Congress this year, President Xi Jinping received a very important phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

He said the call spurred a positive momentum in the dialogue process between the two countries.

"Our two leaders had in-depth exchange of views and reached important consensus on furthering the China-India relationship. We must work very hard to implement the consensus between our two leaders.

"India's membership to the SCO has expanded the organisation's potential and its influence, as well as providing a new platform for the India-China cooperation and I believe that India will make a positive and energetic contribution to the organisation," Wang said.

Their meeting is part of efforts by the two countries to step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve relations, official sources here told PTI before the meeting.

Following the Dokalam standoff last year both countries increased dialogue to scale down tensions and improve relations with talks at various levels.

Swaraj and Wang are meeting in the immediate backdrop of the recent meeting between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and top official of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Yang Jiechi in Shanghai.