PM Modi to visit China this month, says NSA Doval

India's national security advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has told Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that PM Modi will be travelling to China later this month to attend the SCO summit in Tianjin. This is the first public confirmation of the Indian side that PM Modi travelled to China, a visit that comes after a gap of 7 years and is seen as a reset in ties.

Both Ajit Doval and Wang Yi led the 24th round of border talks in the Indian nationalcapital onTuesday & emphasised stability at the border. NSA Ajit Doval said, "an upward trend (in ties). Borders have been quiet, and there has been peace and tranquillity. Bilateral engagement has been substantial". The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi emphasised, "setbacks we experienced in the last 2 years, were not in the interest of people of 2 countries...heartening to see the stability that has been restored in the border."

During the 23rd round of border talks in December 2014, both sides achieved "new and important consensus on management of disputes, stabilising the border, and moving towards a settlement. Identified specific goals and formed a working framework", the Chinese foreign minister pointed out. Ties between the 2 Asian giants were on a free fall since the 2020 Galwan clashes, and saw a normalcy returning after the meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Kazan summit last year. Both sides are now working to restart direct flight connectivity that could possibly be announced during PM Modi's upcoming visit to China.

The Chinese foreign minister's visit is part of high-level visits that the 2 sides have seen since the Kazan meetings. This included the visit of NSA Ajit Doval, EAM Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to China for the SCO meetings. Wang Yi arrived on Monday evening and held talks with EAM Jaishankar. During the talks, he told the Indian foreign minister that the Chinese side is now working to remove restrictions on fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines. The impact of this will be positive for the Indian agriculture sector, especially the Rabi planting season, and India’s auto and electronics sectors.

During the Monday evening talks, EAM Jaishankar told Chinese FM that India seeks "a fair, balanced and multi-polar world order, including a multi-polar Asia. Reformed multilateralism is also the call of the day. In the current environment, there is clearly an imperative of maintaining and enhance stability in the global economy as well. The fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is another major priority".

No change in Taiwan policy: India

The Chinese readout of FM Wang Yi, EAM Jaishankar talks said that the latter told the former that "Taiwan is part of China". Sources have clarified that there is "no change in our position on Taiwan", explaining that "we stressed that like the rest of the world, India has a relationship with Taiwan that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties. We intend to continue it."

In fact, sources also said, when the matter was raised by the Chinese FM on Taiwan, then India's External Affairs Minister said that "China itself was dealing with the areas that we were - economic, technological, cultural, etc, so how is that possible?" for India to disengage with the Taiwanese side. India has upped its engagement with Taiwan in several areas, including conductors. Major Taiwanese companies like Foxconn and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) are key partners in India’s ambition to become a semiconductor and manufacturing hub.

India, in the past, has restated the "One China" policy, but since the last such mention was in 2008. While India doesn't have a formal diplomatic mission in Taiwan, it maintains ties through a representative office, the India-Taipei Association (ITA). Taiwan also has its "office" in India, known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC), to facilitate trade, investment, tourism, cultural exchanges, and consular services.