Misri to Visit China

Vikram Misri is a seasoned diplomat and has served as the Indian Ambassador to China. He was representing India in Beijing at a time when the border conflict started with China. He is now slated to visit Beijing as India’s Foreign Secretary on 26-27 January to materialise the mechanism for the taking forward of the outcomes that were derived from the Kazan Summit that also involved the meetings between the Special Representatives and the Foreign Ministers. These meetings were meant to reduce the tension between the two neighbours. Besides this the mandate of this Summit also included the de-escalation and inclusive economic partnership. This visit of the Foreign Secretary comes at a time when a new dispensation has taken the reins of power in the United States (US). President Trump’s inauguration has sparked a new debate as he has openly stated his immigration policy and his economic vision for the US. He has minced no words to target China and even the Indian diaspora is also on his radar. Recently, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has stated that China would protect its national interest after Trump threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports from February. This development will surely impact the India-China relations. As the two Asian giants are the undisputed big markets of the world with the largest world population. The two nations will have to act wisely and protect the economic interests of their people. The geopolitical and geostrategic compulsions may force India and China to revisit their policies and accommodate each other’s interests. But for that China will have to shun its imperialist designs and look within to halt its ambitions and stop transgressing the stated limits. China has been creating trouble for its neighbours in the Indo-Pacific. It has been openly helping Pakistan and Bangladesh to orchestrate subversion and terrorism against India. It is in such a scenario that the Foreign secretary is visiting China. He is a China hand and knows the mind games of the dragon. His experience of the Chinese affairs will surely help India to steal the best deal to keep the borders peaceful. Now it has to be seen to what extent Vikram Misri will be successful to repair the bilateral ties between the two ancient civilisations that have unfortunately been engaged in conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs while explaining the rationale of the Misri’s visit has stated the resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations, including in the political, economic and people-to-people domains.. It must be kept in mind that the Foreign Secretary is visiting China just after the National security Adviser(NSA) Ajit Doval’s visit to China. During his visit he met the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. So it becomes clear that both sides are engaged in a calibrated approach to repair the relations. We have already seen that there have been developments that signal the return to the normalcy in terms of the friendly relations. It includes the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, data sharing on trans-border rivers besides the border trade. Normalcy between India and China can be a game changer. Provided China understands the Indian concerns and stops eyeing the Indian territory and cushioning Pakistan when it comes to cross-border terrorism. Let us hope Vikram Misri’s China visit turns out to be a game changer. The fingers are crossed.