Foreign Secretary holds talks with China's Vice Foreign Minister

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale today held talks with China's Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou during which the follow-up action on understandings reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the informal summit in Wuhan was discussed.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Gokhale and Kong, during their talks here, also discussed the agenda for bilateral engagement in the coming months, including the preparations for the forthcoming meeting between Modi and Xi at the SCO Summit in Qingdao.

"The two sides reviewed the follow-up action on the understandings reached at the Wuhan informal summit and discussed the agenda for bilateral engagement in the coming months, including the preparations for the forthcoming meeting between the Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit in Qingdao on June 9-10," the MEA said.

It said the two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest.

Kong also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Modi and Xi had held an informal summit at the Chinese city of Wuhan in April last week during which they exchanged views on solidifying the relationship between the two Asian powers.

At the informal summit, the two leaders had decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications to build trust and understanding, which was seen as a move to avoid a Dokalam-like situation in the future.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam from June 16 last year after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. The face-off ended on August 28.

The meeting between Gokhale and Kong came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS Ministerial Conference in South Africa.

In the meeting, Swaraj and Wang discussed ways to maintain the momentum in bilateral and multilateral cooperation.