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Beijing attaches 'great importance' to PM Modi's China visit: Key for SCO, bilateral ties, says ambassador
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1.
Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China for the SCO Summit later this month "will be very important", not only for the summit but also for the bilateral ties between the two nations.
He said that China attaches "great importance" to this visit of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1.
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"The visit of Prime Minister Modi to China will be a very important event not only for the SCO but for the bilateral relationship between the two countries. A working group from China and India are preparing to make this visit a successful one. We attach great importance to this visit," Fiehong told reporters.
He also mentioned the outcomes of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's visit to India earlier this week, news agency ANI.
Wang Yi co-chaired the 24th round of the Special Representatives' dialogue on the Boundary Question between India and China with the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on August 19. He also held bilateral talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
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The Chinese foreign minister called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on August 19.
"This time, during the Chinese FM visit to India, he had a very important talk with Mr Doval on the boundary issue. They reached a consensus on 10 points. Two groups will be set up by our two sides over the border issue. One group will be for border delimitation into appropriate sectors. The second group will focus on proper management of the border and border areas," the Chinese Ambassador said.
Feihong further said that the border issue should not define the relationship between India and China, adding that the border issue is one side, and the cooperation between the nations is on the other.
In a post X, the Ambassador highlighted the 10 points of consensus from the 24th round of talks between special representatives of China and India on the boundary question.
Feihong said the two sides spoke positively of the progress made in implementing the significant leader-level consensus in Kazan.
"The two sides reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas, emphasized handling the issue properly through friendly consultations, to promote overall development of the China-India bilateral relationship," he said.
"Agreed on the need to take a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the China-India Boundary Question signed in 2005," he added.
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The two sides also agreed to set up a Working Group to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace in the border areas, he said.
"Agreed to create General-Level Mechanisms in the Eastern and Middle Sectors, in addition to the existing General-Level Mechanism in the Western Sector, and hold the next round of General-Level Mechanism meeting in the Western Sector at an early date," he added.
Feihong said the two sides also agreed to engage border management mechanisms at both diplomatic and military levels.
The Chinese Ambassador said the two sides exchanged views on trans-border rivers cooperation and agreed to give full play to the role of the China-India Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers and keep communication on the renewal of relevant memorandum of understandings.
"Agreed to re-open the three traditional border trading markets, namely Renqinggang-Changgu, Pulan-Gunji and Jiuba-Namgya. Agreed to hold the 25th Round of SR Talks in China in 2026," Feihong added.
