India-China talks on cards despite ‘friction points’

New Delhi: India and China will hold the first round of strategic dialogue on February 22 in Beijing, during which the two sides will discuss key issues of mutual “concern and interest”, including “friction points” such as proposed UN action against Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar and India’s NSG membership bid. China had protested against the visit of a Taiwanese delegation to New Delhi recently.

“China and India will hold the first Meeting of the India China Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by foreign secretary and the executive vice-foreign minister of China on 22 February, 2017, in Beijing.  This dialogue mechanism was agreed to during foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to India in August 2016,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

“The two sides are expected to discuss all issues of mutual interest in the bilateral, regional and international domains,” it said.

MEA spokesman Vikas Swarup there are “friction points” in Sino-China ties, adding that the dialogue will strive for a holistic view of the relations between the two countries and see to what extent they can accommodate each other’s concerns and interests.

“India and China share a close development partnership and there are number of issues also between the two countries. While there are collaborative activities, there are also some friction points. The idea is that through the mechanism of this strategic dialogue, the foreign secretary from our side and his Chinese counterpart can take a holistic view of India-China relations,” Mr Swarup was quoted as saying by news agencies.

He said the strategic dialogue is a more “comprehensive” forum than other similar ones.