Clearing the uncertainty over the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India for an informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Beijing has called for a strengthening of Sino-Indian cooperation.
“With growing uncertainty in the international situation, China and India should strengthen cooperation on international and regional affairs, just as we once jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which have become basic norms of international relations,” Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said.
With growing uncertainty in the international situation, China and India should strengthen cooperation on international and regional affairs, just as we once jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which have become basic norms of international relations.
— Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) October 9, 2019
Weidong also announced the visit of President Xi for the second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to receive Xi in Mamallapuram – a UNESCO world heritage site near the southern city of Chennai on 11 October.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit India from October 11th to 12th for the 2nd Informal Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Chennai. Hope their Strategic guidance and friendship will usher China-India ties into a new chapter.
— Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) October 9, 2019
This would mark the second time the leaders would be meeting for an informal summit; the first was in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan in April last year, after the Doklam standoff between the military forces of the two countries.
In a series of tweets ahead of the high-profile visit, Weidong said people to people ties are key to bilateral relations.
P2P&cultural ties are key to bilateral relations. We achieved a lot in this field, with 1 million mutual visits per year and 2 rounds of High-Level P2P&Cultural Exchanges Mechanism meeting. Let's work for new highlights in culture, education, youth, media and sports exchanges.
— Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) October 8, 2019
Imran Khan in Beijing
Ahead of President Xi’s India visit, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit to garner support for Islamabad’s diplomatic campaign for Kashmir.
China, however, told Khan that Beijing would support Islamabad in "safeguarding its territorial integrity", without mentioning India. In a statement, Premier Li Keqiang said China-Pakistan friendship enjoys a profound foundation and both sides enjoy traditional friendship.
“There are no strings attached to our relationship, and it is not targeted at any third party,” added the statement.
Pakistan launched a diplomatic offensive against India after New Delhi divided Jammu and Kashmir into two federally-administered territories and eliminated its quasi-autonomous status. Islamabad claims it is a stakeholder in the Kashmir issue and deemed New Delhi’s move “illegal”.
Both countries rule part of Kashmir, while claiming the entire territory. They have fought three wars since independence from the UK; two were over Kashmir.
Xi's visit to India will also come shortly amid increasing tensions with the United States, which imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials over allegations of human right violations on Tuesday for what Washington claimed was the detention or abuse of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang province, an autonomous territory in Northwest China.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has protested the decision, insisting that the move constitutes a violation of "the basic norms governing international relations".
The spokesperson continued by saying that "Xinjiang does not have the so-called human rights issue claimed by the US," and assumed that "the accusations by the US side are merely made-up pretexts for its interference".
