India, China review progress, discuss way to strengthen bilateral ties

India and China have reviewed progress in the bilateral ties and discussed ways to strengthen them as Indian envoy Vikram Misri met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou here. Both of them took stock of positive developments since the Wuhan informal summit and exchanged views on further strengthening of India-China relations, the Indian embassy in Beijing said in a statement.

New Delhi-Beijing ties have been on the upswing after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Wuhan last April. Meanwhile, a report in the Japanese media said that Xi might travel to India before the upcoming general elections to meet Modi in a Wuhan-like format.

The Nikkei Asian Review said in the report: "Xi intends to visit India as early as February in a move seen at countering Washington's increasingly antagonistic trade policy and aggressive Indo-Pacific diplomacy. "Xi hopes to visit ahead of India's general elections due by May. An Indian source said the visit would be in February at the earliest, but a Chinese source said it will be after China's National People's Congress in March."

When contacted by IANS, a diplomatic source denied knowledge of such a meet. Another official pleaded ignorance about the matter. Earlier, a source told IANS that trade will be a major focus in the bilateral ties with New Delhi pushing for more access to Chinese markets. Indian has a $57 billion trade deficit with China, which is its largest trade partner. Although the festering border dispute is a key irritant between the two nations, China and India have pledged not to let it affect other aspects of their ties.