Chinese Ambassador Le Yucheng discusses bilateral relations with S. Jaishankar

Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng on Friday discussed bilateral relations between New Delhi and Beijing with newly appointed Foreign Secretary Dr S. Jaishankar, ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's three-day visit to the People's Republic.

"I am very privileged that I am the first ambassador that S. Jaishankar has met after he was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of India. We talked about our bilateral relations, especially the upcoming visit of Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, to China tomorrow, the agenda and the possible outcomes of this visit," said Le.

"We have an impression that he [Jaishankar] is an old friend of China and he worked for years as India's Ambassador to China. He did a lot for the vibrant recovery of our relations. I am looking forward to working with Jaishankar and his colleagues to further promote our relations and solve the problems," he added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay an official three-day visit to China on February 1-3, at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The two Ministers will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of concern to both sides.

During her visit, Swaraj will inaugurate the second India-China High-Level Media Forum and attend the launch of Visit India Year in Beijing.

She will also participate in the 13th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Russia-India- China Trilateral, and will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting.