Chinese Foreign Minister may visit India soon, MEA non-committal

New Delhi, March 17: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is likely to visit India later this month, even as he is expected to visit neighbors Nepal and Pakistan. The Ministry of External Affairs was non-committal on the reported visit, “I don’t have any information to share on this at this moment,” was all Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi was willing to reveal during a news briefing. Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi is to visit Kathmandu on March 26 to push for implementation of the BRI and sign two projects. He has also been invited to attend as guest of honor the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting being held in Islamabad on March 22-23. According to reports, he is to address the conference as a special guest. The visit of the Chinese FM, if it takes place, will be the first visit by any Chinese Minister since the face-off began between the armies of the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) nearly two years ago. The visit could be on March 24 or 25 for talks with EAM S Jaishankar. Both India and China have held a series of diplomatic and military level talks since the bloody Galwan clash in June 2020. The visit would come as EAM Jaishankar has stated firmly that India will not agree to any change in the status quo along the LAC. “We are absolutely clear that we will not agree to any change in the status quo, any attempt to change the LAC unilaterally by one side,” he said in Paris during a talk last month. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, EAM said that India’s relationship with China is right now going through a “very difficult phase” after Beijing violated agreements not to bring the military forces in the border. He also said that the “state of the border will determine the state of the relationship”. Separately, with regard to Indian students who have not been able to return to China to pursue their studies due to the Covid restrictions by Beijing, the MEA spokesperson said that “till date the Chinese side has not given any categorical response about the return of Indian students” and that India will continue to pursue the matter with the Chinese authorities. “Our Embassy in Beijing, our consulates, our ministry has been taking up the matter with the relevant authorities in China on numerous occasions since the restrictions were first imposed,” he said. “We have highlighted the plight of the students and how the continuation of these stringent restrictions were putting their academic careers, the education careers of thousands of students, in jeopardy.” He said that EAM S Jaishankar personally raised the issue with FM Wang Yi during their meeting in Dushanbe last year in September. He said India has noted the statements by the Chinese foreign ministry on the issue. “We have noted the statement made by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Feb 8 when in response to a query from Indian media he said China is considering in a coordinated manner arrangements for allowing foreign students to return to China for their studies. “The recent statement of the Chinese spokesperson on March 14 said that taking into consideration the developments in the pandemic situation and the features of the different international students and they were coordinating for the return of a few international students who do have such needs.” “Let me clarify that till date the Chinese side has not given any categorical response about the return of Indian students. “We will continue to urge the Chinese side to adopt a congenial stance in the interest of our students and they facilitate an early return to China so that our students can pursue their studies,” he added. “That issue will be on our agenda on all occasions,” he said. (UNI)