After China Issues Statement, India Too Says Modi And Xi Had A Meeting In Bali In Nov 2022

The Ministry of External Affairs has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chinese President Xi Jinping “spoke” about the need to “stabilise” India-China bilateral ties while in Bali last year.

New Delhi: The government has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping did discuss the need to “stabilise” bilateral ties between India and China when they met face-to-face in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022 on the margins of the G20 Summit. The clarification from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came two days after China issued a statement saying both leaders had “reached an important consensus” on the issue.

So far, like India, Beijing was also tight-lipped about it. However, earlier this week on Monday, after a meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, China’s new Foreign Minister and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Beijing, said in an official statement that the leaders did have a discussion too apart from exchanging pleasantries.

“Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping at the conclusion of that dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, they exchanged courtesies and also spoke of the need to stabilise our bilateral relations,” Arindam Bagchi, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, said Thursday during a media briefing.

He also said: “We have steadfastly maintained that the key to the resolution of this whole issue is to resolve the situation along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) on the western sector of the India-China boundary and to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”

Last November, after both leaders had met, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told the media: “With regard to the question relating to the handshake between the Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, I will only say that Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping who were both attending the G-20 dinner yesterday, hosted by the Indonesian President exchanged courtesies at the conclusion of the dinner.”

Playing down the statement made by the foreign secretary at that time, Bagchi Thursday said: “I think the foreign secretary didn’t mention the second part of it. He did talk about exchanging courtesies, and I think there was a general discussion or they spoke of the need for stabilising our bilateral relations.”

Ties between India and China have reached its lowest ebb ever since the military standoff began at the eastern sector of LAC in Ladakh. This was the first time both sides witnessed bloodshed since 1975 at the Galwan River Valley area in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.

‘G20 Not Too Far Away’

The MEA spokesperson Thursday also hinted at the fact that Chinese President Xi may be coming to India to attend the G20 Summit in person. The G20 Leaders’ Summit will take place in New Delhi on September 9-10, for the first time under India’s presidency.

“The G20 is not too far away and we are making all efforts and preparations to ensure there is success with the participation of all the leaders invited,” said Bagchi. But the government has so far not made any official announcement about which all leaders will be attending the Summit.

There has been “no positive movement” from the Chinese side in terms of disengagement and de-escalation even as both sides continue to hold innumerable rounds of talks, according to sources in the Indian Army.

The last round of diplomatic talks under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) took place on May 31 with the decision to hold commander-level talks soon.

Meanwhile, in a sudden rejig of sorts, China sacked its previous foreign minister Qin Gang and reinstated Wang Yi Tuesday. Wang enjoys an amicable relationship with both NSA Doval, as well as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

 ‘Stapled Visa Unacceptable’

On the issue of China issuing stapled visas to some of the Indian players travelling to that country for a sporting event, Bagchi said such an act by Beijing is “unacceptable”.

“This has been something that we have discussed many years ago. Our long-standing and consistent position is that there should be no discrimination or differential treatment on the basis of domicile or ethnicity in the visa regime for Indian citizens holding valid Indian passports,” said Bagchi.

He added: “We have launched a strong protest with the Chinese side reiterating our consistent position on the matter. And India reserves the right to suitably respond to such actions.”

The matter refers to an incident where three members of a 12-member Indian sports team were denied regular visas by the Embassy of China in India. The three players — Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu — hail from Arunachal Pradesh. The team was to visit China to participate in the World University Games from July 28-August 8. But now their travel plans have been put on hold.