Editorial: Signs of thaw

The proposed visit to India by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first high-level engagement since the Galwan Valley clash, has the potential to break the ice and reset the frosty bilateral relations. While de-escalation and complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region remains a top priority, the two […]

The proposed visit to India by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first high-level engagement since the Galwan Valley clash, has the potential to break the ice and reset the frosty bilateral relations. While de-escalation and complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region remains a top priority, the two countries must not allow the bilateral ties to be held hostage by a single instance of border clash. Instead, the Asian neighbours must explore opportunities to engage in mutually beneficial ways over a wide gamut of issues — economic cooperation; trade and investment; regional peace, stability and connectivity; socio-cultural exchanges; and shaping a new and better world order in the age of multilateralism. In the rapidly changing global geopolitics, India and China have an opportunity and a responsibility to take the initiative to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. If they succeed in such an initiative, then it will be the first time that Asia will have played a peace-promoting role in Europe. As two major nations in the world, India and China must not lose sight of the big picture that presents a new set of opportunities. China’s latest overtures, including a proposal to hold “civilisational dialogue” and interactions between business and the film industries of both sides must be welcome. Wang’s proposed visit, to be followed by a return visit to Beijing by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, comes at a time when there is a dramatic shift in the international order in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both New Delhi and Beijing find themselves on the same page, though for different sets of reasons, as far as the ongoing war is concerned. The main purpose of the resumption of ministerial visits is to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel to China for the BRICS summit scheduled later this year. It would provide an occasion for Modi to have a face-to-face meeting with President Xi Jinping, signalling a thaw in the bilateral relations. In the last two years, there has been no direct contact between the two leaders. India must use the Chinese outreach to push not just for a de-escalation in Ladakh, but also for a quick, time-bound diplomatic settlement of the border issue. The Galwan clash in which 20 Indian soldiers died took bilateral relations to the lowest ebb in three decades. The two sides have held 15 rounds of military commander-level talks to defuse the tensions in that region, with mixed results on disengagement. India has been insisting on the restoration of status quo ante — the situation as it existed in April 2020 — including access to traditional patrolling points in the Depsang Plains. Another worrying factor for India has been the unprecedented levels of infrastructure building activity by the Chinese side close to the LAC.

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