Johannesburg, South Africa — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met on Friday on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties between China and India.
Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasized the importance of the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan, Russia, last year. He noted that their successful meeting set the general direction for improving and developing relations between the two neighboring countries.
“As two ancient civilizations and neighbors, China and India should trust and support each other to achieve mutual success,” Wang Yi said. He highlighted that exchanges at all levels have resumed orderly, and both sides have reached consensus on properly handling specific differences, particularly on boundary issues.
Wang Yi expressed that restoring mutual trust and pursuing win-win cooperation aligns with the common expectations of the peoples of both nations. He added that China is ready to work with India to plan commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties, injecting new momentum into their relationship.
Jaishankar acknowledged the crucial guidance provided by the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi in Kazan. He noted that it led to the gradual resumption of exchanges in various fields and yielded remarkable results.
“Building mutual trust between India and China serves the interests of both sides,” Jaishankar said. “India cherishes the hard-won achievements in improving our relations and is ready to work with China to accelerate the resumption of cooperation mechanisms.”
He emphasized the importance of enhancing people-to-people exchanges, facilitating cross-border travel, and jointly safeguarding peace and tranquility in border areas.
As both China and India are key members of the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, Jaishankar stressed the significance of strengthening coordination between the two countries. “India is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China in this regard,” he added.
