Expectations galore

In what will be the fourth visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China after he stormed to power in 2014, this visit to the Asian giant for an informal summit with President Xi Jinping from April 27 to 28 in Wuhan, holds prospects of ironing out a lot many matters between the competing powers. Prime Minister Modi will be visiting the central Chinese city at the invitation of President Xi Jinping and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi after their talks. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will take part in the two-day meeting of Foreign Ministers of the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) starting today. Prime Minister Modi is, however, scheduled to take another trip to China on June 9-10 which will be held at Qingdao city. "We will make sure that the informal summit (between PM Modi and President Jinping) will be a complete success and a milestone in China-India relations," Wang Yi said while addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing. The informal summit seeks to exchange views on bilateral and international matters and to enhance mutual communication between the two leaders. "The two leaders will have communications of a strategic nature concerning the shifts going on in the world. They will also exchange views on overarching long-term and strategic matters concerning the future of China-India relations". The meeting will boost the bilateral relationship between the Asian giants as the informal Summit will be a significant occasion for them to exchange views on bilateral and international matters from an over-arching and long-term perspective with the objective of enhancing mutual communication at the level of the leaders. Ahead of the summit, the SCO, with its focus on anti-terrorism cooperation, is holding a host of ministerial and officials' meetings. Both sides attach a lot of significance to these meetings to reset the ties. Among the matters of long-term significance are the announcements made during addressing the joint press conference when Swaraj appreciated the Chinese side for their confirmation on the resumption of data sharing on Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers in 2018. She also said the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Nathu La route will be resumed this year. This event was followed by two meetings between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and the visit early this year by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to Beijing. The two countries also held 11th Joint Economic Group meeting and the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue here recently. China is a formidable neighbour that needs to be handled with great care and caution. India depends on China in many ways so it is imperative to have cordial and peaceful relations with China. This is a delicate balance that India must strive for and maintain.