Positive steps needed to improve ties, FS Misri tells Chinese vice minister

NEw new delhi: bharat on midweek emphasised the demand for positive degree steps to create the proper environment for improving relations with China when foreign secretary Vikram Misri met Sun Haiyan, a senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as part of ongoing efforts to normalise ties between the two countries.Sun, the vice minister of the CPC’s international department, arrived in India with a delegation on January 12 as part of an outreach to political parties, academia and the media. The two sides are engaged in a protracted process for rebuilding ties that were taken to an all-time low by a military face-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that began in 2020 and lasted more than four years.Misri pointed to the importance of increasing understanding between the people of the two countries in order to rebuild ties and, “in this context, highlighted the need to take positive steps to create the right environment for improved bilateral relations”, the external affairs ministry said in a readout on the foreign secretary’s meeting with Sun. The discussions between Misri and Sun covered the progress in stabilising and rebuilding bilateral ties, with the priority on business and people-centric engagements, and ways to take forward bilateral engagement in 2026, the ministry said.Sun arrived in India soon after bilateral relations have been impacted by several irritants, including India’s opposition to Chinese infrastructure development projects in the occupied Shaksgam valley, the construction of the world’s largest dam on the Tibetan plateau that could impact flows into the Brahmaputra river, and the detention of a woman from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai airport.People familiar with the matter said these developments, which have been formally raised by the Indian side with China, have the potential to affect the normalisation process that began after the two sides ended the stand-off on the LAC in October 2024 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in Russia and decided to take forward relations and address the border dispute.“Both sides reiterated their commitment to implementing the important directions provided by their leaders, and to advancing bilateral relations on the path of normalisation,” the readout said.Sun briefed Misri on her visit, including her interactions with Indian media, think tanks and political parties. She discussed the Chinese side’s expectations on enhancing exchanges under a programme between the external affairs ministry and the CPC’s international department.The Chinese side also congratulated India on assuming the Brics chairship and expressed strong support for a successful summit of the grouping.Sun and her delegation also met leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale – the first time such meetings have been held in more than five years. The CPC’s international department is responsible for forging connections with political parties in other countries.BJP leaders maintained the two sides discussed ways to enhance dialogue, but the Congress party questioned the timing and intent of the meeting on Tuesday, alleging that China laid claim to Shaksgam valley, part of Jammu and Kashmir, within hours of the closed-door interaction at the BJP headquarters.