Mixed signals from Chinese experts on FM Wang Yi’s India visit

New Delhi has categorically told Beijing that complete disengagement from all LAC friction points is key to normalising ties

BEIJING: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to India is key to resuming high-level bilateral engagements, stalled since 2020 due to the dragging border tensions along the Line of Actual Control, but New Delhi has to change its attitude towards Beijing for ties to gain a positive thrust, Chinese experts on international affairs have said.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at South Block in New Delhi on Friday. (PTI Photo)

Given their relations with Russia, it’s crucial for India and China to engage more in the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, and to be prepared for the aftermath, they said.

Wang, also one of China’s state councillors, flew into New Delhi late on Thursday from Kabul and held talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Yi is the senior most Chinese official to visit India since border clashes began in eastern Ladakh in June 2020, causing a sharp plunge in relations between the Himalayan neighbours.

There seems to be a consensus among Chinese experts that India is giving more importance than what is due to resolving the border tension, but neglecting other aspects of bilateral ties – a bone of contention between the two neighbours.

Indian and Chinese border troops have been locked in a border standoff for nearly two years, underlined by a violent face-off in Pangong Tso lake followed by the deadly Galwan Valley clash led to both sides gradually deploying tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry along the border.

So far, troops have disengaged from three points, but more friction points remain.

New Delhi has categorically told Beijing that complete disengagement from all LAC friction points is key to normalising ties.

Chinese experts differ.

“The border issue is only an issue in bilateral relations. It should not become a prerequisite for the development of bilateral relations, nor should it become a bargaining chip for India to coerce China,” Liu Zongyi, senior fellow at the South Asia and China Centre (SACC) of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), said.

“China still regards India as a development partner, and India should change its view of China as a competitor or even the biggest enemy. If Indian policymakers cannot change this view, China-India relations will not fundamentally improve,” Liu, a frequent commentator on Sino-India ties in Chinese media, added.

Lin Minwang from the Institute of International Studies in Shanghai’s Fudan University had similar views.

“After the conflict in the Galwan Valley, China quickly expressed its desire to ‘turn over an old chapter and open a new chapter’, but New Delhi may not have let it go. So, the mood in New Delhi is not helpful for this visit,” Lin said.

Lin told HT that he doesn’t have “high expectations for this visit”, but the two countries should focus on cooperation.

“However, the two countries are ‘neighbours that are not possible to move away’. While they have some problems, they should not forget the space for cooperation, especially in such an era of great global changes,” Lin said.

Some expert opinions were more optimistic about the future of ties.

Calling the visit “significant” and “timely”, Wang Huiyao, head of the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation, said it gives both countries a chance to “compare notes and exchange information on the Ukraine crisis”.

“They have a common stand in the crisis,” Wang said.

“…this crisis has fundamentally changed the world system and world institutions. So, both countries are facing enormous pressure from the western world. So how to address the sticky situation is also one of the major driving forces of this visit,” Hu Shisheng, from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said.

Hu also spoke about the upcoming BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in China, saying that it will be an important platform for the leadership of the countries to meet – and an opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit China.

“Now, this platform (BRICS) has been facing enormous pressure, especially after Russia got directly involved (in Ukraine). How to address the functioning of this institution also becomes a very important issue for both governments to talk about,” Hu said.

“Since India and China are all the founding members, we are responsible for having such important platforms to unite the resources and advantages of emerging economies, and tackle the pressure from the developed ones,” Hu added.

Wang Dehua, a South Asia expert at Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies, said, “Hope the Indian foreign minister soon pays a return visit while creating a good atmosphere for PM Modi to attend the BRICS summit.”

He added that the two countries concentrate on how to return on the right track to normalise bilateral relations, while also strengthening the multinational world order.

Liu from SIIS, however, had a word of caution for New Delhi.

“I would like to advise India not to think that China’s hosting of the BRICS summit this year is an opportunity for India to put pressure on China and solve the border issue in a way conducive to India.”