Indian ambassador, Chinese official discuss ties, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

Indian envoy Pradeep Kumar Rawat met China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to discuss bilateral ties, Kailash Yatra resumption, and post-Operation Sindoor cooperation amid regional tensions

Top diplomats from India and China met recently to review bilateral relations and work towards implementing the understanding reached by their leaders last year, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

 

The meeting, held on Thursday, was between Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat and China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, according to a report by the Press Trust of India. It marked the first diplomatic engagement between the two countries since Operation Sindoor.

 

According to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, “Both sides expressed their willingness to work together to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.”

 

Plans for cultural and strategic cooperation

The two sides also discussed ways to enhance cultural exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation. The statement said both nations would “properly manage differences, and promote the development of China-India relations along a healthy and stable track.”

 

In addition, the diplomats “exchanged views on the issues of common concern,” the Chinese statement added. Sun, who is currently in charge of South Asia affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, previously served as China’s Ambassador to India.

 

Thursday’s meeting also comes as preparations are being made to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet for Indian pilgrims. If resumed, this would be the first such step following a prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh that had stalled bilateral ties for over four years.

 

Earlier on April 26, India’s Ministry of External Affairs had announced that the Yatra would be held from June to August via two routes — the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim. The pilgrimage was first suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and later due to the border tensions.

 

It is worth mentioning that after the complete disengagement of troops at Demchok and Depsang, based on an agreement reached in October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Russia’s Kazan. There, they agreed to revive multiple bilateral dialogue mechanisms.

 

Since then, several meetings have taken place to help restore normal diplomatic relations. Rawat and Sun had earlier met on April 9 to discuss ties and cooperation in different sectors.

Impossible to ignore China: Shashi Tharoor

The recent meeting came against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, launched by India after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. After the Pahalgam attack, India carried out precision strikes targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. Four days of military action followed from both sides, ending after military officials from both nations held talks on May 10 and agreed to cease further operations.

 

On Thursday (June 5), Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it was “absolutely impossible” to ignore China during India's confrontation with Pakistan. “China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan,” Tharoor said. He noted that before tensions escalated with Pakistan, India was making “good progress” in its ties with China.

 

Speaking from the US, where he is heading an all-party delegation for Operation Sindoor outreach, Tharoor added, “I'm not going to mince my words, but we are aware that China has immense stakes in Pakistan.”

 

The timing of the Rawat-Sun meeting also aligns with rising concerns in India over China's export restrictions on rare earth metals. China currently produces 61 per cent of the world’s mined rare earths and controls 92 per cent of the global output, according to the International Energy Agency.

 

Rare earths are a group of 17 metallic elements essential for modern electronics, renewable energy, and defence technologies.