INDIA: CHINA-Both Sides Talk Up Improvement In Ties After 'Strategic Dialogue'

(MNI) London - Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in New Delhi earlier for their first China-India strategic dialogue. A statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides "conducted friendly, candid, and in-depth exchanges on the international situation, their respective domestic and foreign policies, international and regional issues of common concern, and China-India bilateral relations." The statement said both sides should "...adhere to the strategic understanding that China and India are partners rather than competitors, [...] and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations." These comments were echoed by an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spox. 

• India's The Print reports the dialogue saw the two sides “reviewing” the trajectory of recent relations, with a person familiar with the matter saying the dialogue was “one more step in the gradual normalisation of ties.” Over the past year, China and India have resumed direct flights, and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage (taking place in China but sacred for many Hindus and Jains in India) took place for the first time in five years.
• The increasingly fraught geopolitical environment has seen New Delhi and Beijing seeking a more cordial relationship, after border skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas in 2020 risked a major deterioration in regional security.
• While today's statements may appear to downplay competition, nationalist sentiment, economic mercantilism, and concerns about one another's alliances (India on China/Pakistan links, China on India/US ties) could limit the extent to which a full rapprochement is possible.