The Russia, India and China (RIC) meeting began in Moscow today as India's foreign minister S.Jaishankar took part in the meet through a video link.

During the meeting, Jaishankar said that "it is important to realise the contributions that India has made".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/after-commander-level-talks-china-says-decided-to-take-steps-to-cool-down-things-at-the-border-307891">Also Read: After commander-level talks, China says 'decided to take steps to cool down things at the border'</a>

"The challenges today are not of concepts and norms but of practices," India's foreign minister said, adding, "the leading voices should respect international law, supporting multilateral cooperation and promoting partners" as he thanked Russia for hosting the summit.

It is India's first meeting with Chinese officials after the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese troops in which 20 Indian soldiers had died last week.

"We welcome the special meeting, the victory over Nazism and fascism with more than 2 million Indians who fought the war. The medical mission of Dr Kotnis worked in China. India's contribution was not given proper acknowledgement and this injustice has to be corrected," India's foreign minister said.

Dr Kotnis was one of the five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the second Sin-Japanese war in 1938.

"Beyond this reality, UN began with 50 members, now it has more than 193, its decision-making cannot be in denial on this reality," Jaishankar asserted.

"We must realise the changing realities," he said. India's external affairs minister asserted that when the Indian contingent marches at the Red Square on Wednesday during Russia's victory celebrations over Nazi Germany in 1945, "it will be the difference that we made." 
&nbsp;

The Russia, India and China (RIC) meeting began in Moscow today as India's foreign minister S.Jaishankar took part in the meet through a video link. During the meeting, Jaishankar said that "it is important to realise the contributions that India has made".

The Russia, India and China (RIC) meeting began in Moscow today as India's foreign minister S.Jaishankar took part in the meet through a video link. During the meeting, Jaishankar said that "it is important to realise the contributions that India has made". Also Read: After commander-level talks, China says 'decided to take steps to cool down things at the border' "The challenges today are not of concepts and norms but of practices," India's foreign minister said, adding, "the leading voices should respect international law, supporting multilateral cooperation and promoting partners" as he thanked Russia for hosting the summit. It is India's first meeting with Chinese officials after the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese troops in which 20 Indian soldiers had died last week. "We welcome the special meeting, the victory over Nazism and fascism with more than 2 million Indians who fought the war. The medical mission of Dr Kotnis worked in China. India's contribution was not given proper acknowledgement and this injustice has to be corrected," India's foreign minister said. Dr Kotnis was one of the five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the second Sin-Japanese war in 1938. "Beyond this reality, UN began with 50 members, now it has more than 193, its decision-making cannot be in denial on this reality," Jaishankar asserted. "We must realise the changing realities," he said. India's external affairs minister asserted that when the Indian contingent marches at the Red Square on Wednesday during Russia's victory celebrations over Nazi Germany in 1945, "it will be the difference that we made."

At RIC meeting, Jaishankar says India's role in World War-II not acknowledged; recalls Dr Kotnis

Leaders spoke on the need for a Multilateral Solution in the RIC meeting in the G20 summit.

RIC Meeting: Leaders spoke on the need for a Multilateral Solution

India on Wednesday said that it doesn't wish to see further escalation of current <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/sushma-swaraj-raises-pulwama-terror-attack-with-her-chinese-counterpart-report-199940">tension&nbsp;with Islamabad</a> and added that airstrike on Pakistani territory was carried out as it refused to act on terrorist camps on its soil.&nbsp;

Speaking at the RIC or Russia, India, China foreign ministers meet in Wuzhen, China, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, "Limited objective of pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/blow-by-blow-account-how-mirage-2000-jets-destroyed-targets-inside-pakistan-199915">terrorist infrastructure </a>of JeM in order to pre-emptive another terror attack in India. India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation. india will continue to act with responsibility and restraint."

JeM or Jaish-e-Mohammad is a Pakistan based terror group which owned up responsibility for Pulwama terror attack that killed more than 40 of India's paramilitary security personnel.&nbsp;

Explaining the rationale behind India's stand, EAM said, "In the light of the continued refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible information that JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, Government of India decided to take pre-emptive action."

"The&nbsp;target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties. This was not a military operation, no military installations were targeted," she added

The meet is chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EAM Sushma Swaraj in attendance.&nbsp;

She said," Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of acting against JeM and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it&nbsp;denied any knowledge of it and outrightly dismissed claims by JeM."

The visit by EAM to China comes a day after Indian strikes and New Delhi will be keen that Beijing pressure Islamabad to act on terror. China so far has been shielding listing of Masood Azhar, JeM's chief as an international terrorist under the UNSC 1267 committee.&nbsp;

India has been trying to list Azhar as an international terrorist but China has thwarted Indian attempts citing lack of consensus.&nbsp;

France will again propose listing of Azhar and is being backed by the United Kingdom.&nbsp;

This is the first meeting between the Chinese and Indian ministers this year. Last year Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met 4 times.

Speaking on Sino-India ties at the RIC meet, EAM said, "channel of strategic communication between two of us and between the senior official of two sides should always remain open"

This year Chinese President will visit India for the 2nd informal summit between both the countries. The first happened last year in April in Wuhan.

The last RIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting took place in New Delhi on 11 December 2017 in the backdrop of Doklam crisis when Chinese forces tried to build a road on Bhutanese territory and the attempt was thwarted by Indian forces but led to a 2-month long standoff, the worst in many decades.

Informal RIC meet at the leaders level — Prime Minister Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on 30 November last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. The meet took place after a gap of 12 years.

India on Wednesday said that it doesn't wish to see further escalation of current tension with Islamabad and added that airstrike on Pakistani territory was carried out as it refused to act on terrorist camps on its soil.

India on Wednesday said that it doesn't wish to see further escalation of current tension with Islamabad and added that airstrike on Pakistani territory was carried out as it refused to act on terrorist camps on its soil. Speaking at the RIC or Russia, India, China foreign ministers meet in Wuzhen, China, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, "Limited objective of pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of JeM in order to pre-emptive another terror attack in India. India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation. india will continue to act with responsibility and restraint." JeM or Jaish-e-Mohammad is a Pakistan based terror group which owned up responsibility for Pulwama terror attack that killed more than 40 of India's paramilitary security personnel. Explaining the rationale behind India's stand, EAM said, "In the light of the continued refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible information that JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, Government of India decided to take pre-emptive action." "The target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties. This was not a military operation, no military installations were targeted," she added The meet is chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EAM Sushma Swaraj in attendance. She said," Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of acting against JeM and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of it and outrightly dismissed claims by JeM." The visit by EAM to China comes a day after Indian strikes and New Delhi will be keen that Beijing pressure Islamabad to act on terror. China so far has been shielding listing of Masood Azhar, JeM's chief as an international terrorist under the UNSC 1267 committee. India has been trying to list Azhar as an international terrorist but China has thwarted Indian attempts citing lack of consensus. France will again propose listing of Azhar and is being backed by the United Kingdom. This is the first meeting between the Chinese and Indian ministers this year. Last year Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met 4 times. Speaking on Sino-India ties at the RIC meet, EAM said, "channel of strategic communication between two of us and between the senior official of two sides should always remain open" This year Chinese President will visit India for the 2nd informal summit between both the countries. The first happened last year in April in Wuhan. The last RIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting took place in New Delhi on 11 December 2017 in the backdrop of Doklam crisis when Chinese forces tried to build a road on Bhutanese territory and the attempt was thwarted by Indian forces but led to a 2-month long standoff, the worst in many decades. Informal RIC meet at the leaders level — Prime Minister Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on 30 November last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. The meet took place after a gap of 12 years.

Don't want to see further escalation, says India at RIC meet in China

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be leaving for China for the 16th Russia, India, China (RIC) meet on Tuesday. The meet will take place on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. The meet will be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Sushma Swaraj.

Announcing the visit, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release said, "The ministers are expected to exchange views on the global situation, regional developments of common concern, address global challenges such as terrorism and discuss trilateral exchanges and activities. "

Speaking on the RIC meet, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "During this meeting, the foreign ministers of the three countries will take the implementation of the important consensus of the leaders as the main thrust, focus on the current international landscape, exchange in-depth views on major regional and international issues of mutual interest and deepen third-party cooperation. "

The Russian foreign ministry said the focus will be on Afghanistan, Syria and the situation in Korea. Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "The foreign ministers plan to exchange views on the most pressing international and regional matters, in particular, resolving the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Syria, Libya and Yemen, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and to discuss fighting terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, as well as ensuring international information security."

EAM Sushma Swaraj will also hold bilateral meets with her Russian and Chinese counterparts.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack whose responsibility was claimed by Pakistan based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed(JEM). India has been trying to declare the chief of JEM Masood Azhar as an international terrorist under the 1267 committee of the United Nation Security Council but has been blocked many times by China.

China has been non-committal about its listing of Azhar. Last week in its daily briefing Geng Shuang said, China will engage in relevant discussions in a "constructive and responsible manner" and "keep close communication and coordination with India and other parties concerned."

The last RIC foreign ministerial meeting took place in New Delhi on 11 December 2017. That meet came in the backdrop of Doklam crisis when Chinese forces tried to build a road on Bhutanese territory and the attempt was thwarted by Indian forces but led to a &nbsp;two-month-long standoff, the worst in many decades.

RIC meet at the leaders level — Prime Minister Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on 30 November last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. The meet took place after a gap of 12 years.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be leaving for China for the 16th Russia, India, China (RIC) meet on Tuesday. The meet will take place on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be leaving for China for the 16th Russia, India, China (RIC) meet on Tuesday. The meet will take place on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. The meet will be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Sushma Swaraj. Announcing the visit, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release said, "The ministers are expected to exchange views on the global situation, regional developments of common concern, address global challenges such as terrorism and discuss trilateral exchanges and activities. " Speaking on the RIC meet, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said, "During this meeting, the foreign ministers of the three countries will take the implementation of the important consensus of the leaders as the main thrust, focus on the current international landscape, exchange in-depth views on major regional and international issues of mutual interest and deepen third-party cooperation. " The Russian foreign ministry said the focus will be on Afghanistan, Syria and the situation in Korea. Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, "The foreign ministers plan to exchange views on the most pressing international and regional matters, in particular, resolving the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Syria, Libya and Yemen, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and to discuss fighting terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking, as well as ensuring international information security." EAM Sushma Swaraj will also hold bilateral meets with her Russian and Chinese counterparts. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack whose responsibility was claimed by Pakistan based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed(JEM). India has been trying to declare the chief of JEM Masood Azhar as an international terrorist under the 1267 committee of the United Nation Security Council but has been blocked many times by China. China has been non-committal about its listing of Azhar. Last week in its daily briefing Geng Shuang said, China will engage in relevant discussions in a "constructive and responsible manner" and "keep close communication and coordination with India and other parties concerned." The last RIC foreign ministerial meeting took place in New Delhi on 11 December 2017. That meet came in the backdrop of Doklam crisis when Chinese forces tried to build a road on Bhutanese territory and the attempt was thwarted by Indian forces but led to a two-month-long standoff, the worst in many decades. RIC meet at the leaders level — Prime Minister Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on 30 November last year on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. The meet took place after a gap of 12 years.

Terror, Afghanistan in focus as EAM Sushma Swaraj heads to China for RIC meet

Clearly, it is not the trilateral Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministers&#39; meeting held in New Delhi on December 11 that made Wang Yi&#39;s visit to India significant. Rather, it is the current &quot;cold peace&quot; that exists in China-India relations after the prolonged Doklam border stand-off making the Chinese foreign minister&#39;s current visit significant.

Wang Yi&#39;s visit was significant in many ways. It was the first high-level Chinese official&#39;s visit to India after the two and a half month long Doklam border stand-off. The Chinese foreign minister&#39;s visit to India demonstrated once again that the multilateral mode of engagement keeps China-India ties moving even though their bilateral relationship is at a low tide. Over the years, the RIC foreign ministers&#39; meeting might have contributed a little to expand the level of trust that is required to strengthen the bilateral relations among Russia, India and China. Still, this trilateral meeting remains to date one of the most valuable preparatory forums to generate broader understanding for BRICS and other multilateral channels of engagement among these countries. In fact, the RIC foreign minister&#39;s meeting has acted more as a consultative political mechanism to improve the understanding among Russia, India and China on regional and global affairs. In that context, Wang Yi&#39;s visit offered a much-required momentum to China-India relations with Russia at the regional level.

Additionally, consultative meetings that take place at the bilateral level during these multilateral forums come as an additional bonus to the entire spectrum of engagement. The Chinese foreign minister&#39;s meeting with Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the RIC meeting was certainly a positive move for their bilateralism. Fresh report indicates that both the Chinese and Indian Foreign Minister had a &ldquo;positive and forward&rdquo; looking meeting which was aimed to offer a &ldquo;fresh momentum&rdquo; to China-India bilateral relations. In a way, Wang Yi&rsquo;s visit offered an occasion for Chinese and Indian leaderships and officials to think afresh how to approach the bilateral relations ahead to the year 2018. The Chinese foreign minister&rsquo;s acceptance to address the India-China cultural evening organised by the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra came as a solace that the bilateral relations need a flexible diplomatic and political approach on both hands.

The post-Doklam period witnessed a slow improvement in China-India relations. In fact, during the Xiamen BRICS summit, both Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi agreed to nurture ahead a &ldquo;forward looking constructive&rdquo; relationship. A &ldquo;constructive&rdquo; relationship that would be &ldquo;forward-looking&rdquo; is a part of their official &ldquo;developmental partnership&rdquo; which was primarily constructed during President Xi Jinping&rsquo;s visit to India in September 2014. The essence of this &ldquo;developmental partnership&rdquo; is to forge a closer economic-oriented partnership, enhancing the decade-old &ldquo;Strategic and Cooperative Partnership of Peace and Prosperity&rdquo;. A range of bilateral dialogue mechanisms - Joint Economic Group (JEG), Strategic Economic Dialogue, Financial Dialogue, Joint Working Group (JWG), Defence and Security Dialogues, Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), and Special Representatives (SRs) dialogue - are central to this partnership. These mechanisms have offered an official level of certainty to push forward the dialogue process between the two countries even though tensions between the two sides continue to recur concerning the boundary disputes. Thus, one might witness both China and India having regular meetings through these mechanisms in 2018. But the challenge would be how to expand the bilateral trade contacts that have been freezing for some time around US$71.18 billion between the two sides. Importantly, to India&rsquo;s concern, the bilateral trade deficit with China is increasing.

Opportunities are aplenty for China and India to nurture their bilateral ties ahead. Still, it would not be easy to nurture a &ldquo;forward-looking&rdquo; partnership given the assertive strategic perspectives that both countries currently hold towards each other. India&rsquo;s resolute stance on the Doklam border stand-off surprised Beijing enormously, from which Beijing is yet to recover completely and figure out how to configure its relationship with India forward. Besides, Beijing has not yet completely disengaged itself from the Doklam episode. Fresh Indian media report suggests that around 1,800 Chinese troops are still camping at Doklam even though the heavy winter have arrived in the plateau. But no matter what might be the Chinese approach towards India in times to come, India must be prepared to deal with a new China under Xi Jinping. Wang Yi&rsquo;s visit to India was undertaken after the recently concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which has prepared a &ldquo;new era&rdquo; blueprint for China under Xi Jinping. Positioning China as the leader of the developing world and centre of the globalized world would be the new mantra of this &ldquo;new era&rdquo; plan. To promote this, China may employ a more consultative approach towards the developing world, but its approach towards India would be meagre since Beijing views India as a contending power to its developing-world leadership strategy.

Thus, New Delhi on its part needs to carefully observe Beijing&rsquo;s powerful foreign policy team that is looking at Asian affairs, especially at matters relating to India, after the 19th National Congress. Under Xi Jinping, Chinese foreign policy is undergoing continuous change, where Wang Yi is expected to play an influential role in China&rsquo;s policy approach to India. Wang&rsquo;s foreign policy exposure in the Chinese decision-making continuum is outstanding. As a former Chinese Ambassador to Japan, a former Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and as a former Vice-Foreign Minister, Wang Yi is regarded as one of the finest and influential diplomats in the league of the CPC&rsquo;s foreign affairs. As a key member of the 17th and 18th Central Committees of the CPC, he is regarded as Xi Jinping&rsquo;s &ldquo;Asia Man&rdquo;. He is expected to play an influencing role in coming times on matters relating to key Asian affairs such as China-India boundary dispute, the South China Sea dispute or the East China Sea dispute.

Importantly, Wang Yi shares the distinction with Yang Jiechi, who is not only a member of the 18th Central Committee but a person in charge of China-India border affairs currently, especially the Special Representatives dialogue mechanism. With Yang Jiechi who has been recently elevated as a politburo member at the 19th National Congress, Wang Yi brings authority to China&rsquo;s decision-making process towards key Asian affairs, including matters relating to India. Yang Jiechi, a State Councillor is higher in ranking than the Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In a possible scenario of Yang Jiechi relinquishing the position of special representative of China-India border affairs in March 2018, Wang Yi is expected to be in charge. Approaching China under these new leaderships in coming times would therefore require smart diplomatic and political foresight in India.

Wang Yi&rsquo;s visit to India has offered a new political context for both the sides to rebuild the relationship afresh in 2018. Rebuilding the relationship would however require a flexible state approach on both sides. Xi Jinping&rsquo;s new China might not really be prepared to have a flexible approach towards India. The same can be said about India&rsquo;s current and future approach to China. India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi might not really succumb to any Chinese hard approach in coming times. Therefore, China-India relations would continue to make headlines even though the year 2018 might witness a more engaging relationship between the two countries at some level.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)

Wang Yi's visit was significant in many ways. It was the first high-level Chinese official's visit to India after the two and a half month long Doklam border stand-off.

Clearly, it is not the trilateral Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministers' meeting held in New Delhi on December 11 that made Wang Yi's visit to India significant. Rather, it is the current "cold peace" that exists in China-India relations after the prolonged Doklam border stand-off making the Chinese foreign minister's current visit significant. Wang Yi's visit was significant in many ways. It was the first high-level Chinese official's visit to India after the two and a half month long Doklam border stand-off. The Chinese foreign minister's visit to India demonstrated once again that the multilateral mode of engagement keeps China-India ties moving even though their bilateral relationship is at a low tide. Over the years, the RIC foreign ministers' meeting might have contributed a little to expand the level of trust that is required to strengthen the bilateral relations among Russia, India and China. Still, this trilateral meeting remains to date one of the most valuable preparatory forums to generate broader understanding for BRICS and other multilateral channels of engagement among these countries. In fact, the RIC foreign minister's meeting has acted more as a consultative political mechanism to improve the understanding among Russia, India and China on regional and global affairs. In that context, Wang Yi's visit offered a much-required momentum to China-India relations with Russia at the regional level. Additionally, consultative meetings that take place at the bilateral level during these multilateral forums come as an additional bonus to the entire spectrum of engagement. The Chinese foreign minister's meeting with Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the RIC meeting was certainly a positive move for their bilateralism. Fresh report indicates that both the Chinese and Indian Foreign Minister had a “positive and forward” looking meeting which was aimed to offer a “fresh momentum” to China-India bilateral relations. In a way, Wang Yi’s visit offered an occasion for Chinese and Indian leaderships and officials to think afresh how to approach the bilateral relations ahead to the year 2018. The Chinese foreign minister’s acceptance to address the India-China cultural evening organised by the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra came as a solace that the bilateral relations need a flexible diplomatic and political approach on both hands. The post-Doklam period witnessed a slow improvement in China-India relations. In fact, during the Xiamen BRICS summit, both Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi agreed to nurture ahead a “forward looking constructive” relationship. A “constructive” relationship that would be “forward-looking” is a part of their official “developmental partnership” which was primarily constructed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September 2014. The essence of this “developmental partnership” is to forge a closer economic-oriented partnership, enhancing the decade-old “Strategic and Cooperative Partnership of Peace and Prosperity”. A range of bilateral dialogue mechanisms - Joint Economic Group (JEG), Strategic Economic Dialogue, Financial Dialogue, Joint Working Group (JWG), Defence and Security Dialogues, Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), and Special Representatives (SRs) dialogue - are central to this partnership. These mechanisms have offered an official level of certainty to push forward the dialogue process between the two countries even though tensions between the two sides continue to recur concerning the boundary disputes. Thus, one might witness both China and India having regular meetings through these mechanisms in 2018. But the challenge would be how to expand the bilateral trade contacts that have been freezing for some time around US$71.18 billion between the two sides. Importantly, to India’s concern, the bilateral trade deficit with China is increasing. Opportunities are aplenty for China and India to nurture their bilateral ties ahead. Still, it would not be easy to nurture a “forward-looking” partnership given the assertive strategic perspectives that both countries currently hold towards each other. India’s resolute stance on the Doklam border stand-off surprised Beijing enormously, from which Beijing is yet to recover completely and figure out how to configure its relationship with India forward. Besides, Beijing has not yet completely disengaged itself from the Doklam episode. Fresh Indian media report suggests that around 1,800 Chinese troops are still camping at Doklam even though the heavy winter have arrived in the plateau. But no matter what might be the Chinese approach towards India in times to come, India must be prepared to deal with a new China under Xi Jinping. Wang Yi’s visit to India was undertaken after the recently concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which has prepared a “new era” blueprint for China under Xi Jinping. Positioning China as the leader of the developing world and centre of the globalized world would be the new mantra of this “new era” plan. To promote this, China may employ a more consultative approach towards the developing world, but its approach towards India would be meagre since Beijing views India as a contending power to its developing-world leadership strategy. Thus, New Delhi on its part needs to carefully observe Beijing’s powerful foreign policy team that is looking at Asian affairs, especially at matters relating to India, after the 19th National Congress. Under Xi Jinping, Chinese foreign policy is undergoing continuous change, where Wang Yi is expected to play an influential role in China’s policy approach to India. Wang’s foreign policy exposure in the Chinese decision-making continuum is outstanding. As a former Chinese Ambassador to Japan, a former Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and as a former Vice-Foreign Minister, Wang Yi is regarded as one of the finest and influential diplomats in the league of the CPC’s foreign affairs. As a key member of the 17th and 18th Central Committees of the CPC, he is regarded as Xi Jinping’s “Asia Man”. He is expected to play an influencing role in coming times on matters relating to key Asian affairs such as China-India boundary dispute, the South China Sea dispute or the East China Sea dispute. Importantly, Wang Yi shares the distinction with Yang Jiechi, who is not only a member of the 18th Central Committee but a person in charge of China-India border affairs currently, especially the Special Representatives dialogue mechanism. With Yang Jiechi who has been recently elevated as a politburo member at the 19th National Congress, Wang Yi brings authority to China’s decision-making process towards key Asian affairs, including matters relating to India. Yang Jiechi, a State Councillor is higher in ranking than the Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In a possible scenario of Yang Jiechi relinquishing the position of special representative of China-India border affairs in March 2018, Wang Yi is expected to be in charge. Approaching China under these new leaderships in coming times would therefore require smart diplomatic and political foresight in India. Wang Yi’s visit to India has offered a new political context for both the sides to rebuild the relationship afresh in 2018. Rebuilding the relationship would however require a flexible state approach on both sides. Xi Jinping’s new China might not really be prepared to have a flexible approach towards India. The same can be said about India’s current and future approach to China. India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi might not really succumb to any Chinese hard approach in coming times. Therefore, China-India relations would continue to make headlines even though the year 2018 might witness a more engaging relationship between the two countries at some level. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity)

Opinion: Wang Yi's visit to India may not clear the mist in China-India relations

The foreign ministers of India, Russia, and China made a joint statement Monday after their trilateral meeting in New Delhi.&nbsp;

The joint statement said the three countries &quot;Condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations and reaffirm determination to prevent and counter terrorism.&quot;&nbsp;

It added that all states should take adequate measures to prevent terrorist activities from their territory.&nbsp;

And that those committing, organising, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice.&nbsp;

The statement added that cooperation between India, Russia, and China was not directed against any other country.&nbsp;

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier briefed reporters about what had been discussed at the meeting between the three foreign ministers:&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Discussed terrorism,political scenario in Middle East&amp;North Africa, different challenges in putting world economy back on growth track, transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking, food security and climate change: EAM Swaraj on India-Russia-China trilateral meet <a href="https://t.co/0kAuCrJ0rI">pic.twitter.com/0kAuCrJ0rI</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940151342798053376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

A joint statement by the three countries said they 'condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations and reaffirm determination to prevent and counter terrorism'

The foreign ministers of India, Russia, and China made a joint statement Monday after their trilateral meeting in New Delhi. The joint statement said the three countries "Condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations and reaffirm determination to prevent and counter terrorism." It added that all states should take adequate measures to prevent terrorist activities from their territory. And that those committing, organising, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice. The statement added that cooperation between India, Russia, and China was not directed against any other country. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier briefed reporters about what had been discussed at the meeting between the three foreign ministers: Discussed terrorism,political scenario in Middle East&North Africa, different challenges in putting world economy back on growth track, transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking, food security and climate change: EAM Swaraj on India-Russia-China trilateral meet pic.twitter.com/0kAuCrJ0rI — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017 ×

India, Russia, China 'condemn terrorism in all forms'

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