Sushma Swaraj to hold extensive talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday

Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Sushma Swaraj will hold extensive talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday under the newly established framework to enhance people-to-people exchanges between the two neighbours. The two sides are expected to deliberate on a host of bilateral issues including ways to deepen overall ties.

Wang is visiting India to attend the first meeting of the High-Level Mechanism on People-to-People Exchanges. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind.

During his four-day trip, the Chinese foreign minister will also visit Aurangabad and Mumbai. 

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the meeting will be co-chaired by Swaraj and Wang. The decision to establish the forum was taken at the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in April.

PM Modi and his Chinese counterpart had met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina on November 30 during which they concurred that there had been a "perceptible improvement" in bilateral ties after their Wuhan summit and both sides are optimistic that 2019 would be an even better year for India-China relations. They also discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship between the two neighbours. 

Earlier this month, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale held talks here with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and reviewed the progress made in the bilateral ties since the Wuhan summit.

In their informal summit in Chinese city of Wuhan in April, Modi and Xi decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications so that they can build trust and understanding. The informal summit had taken place seven months after the Doklam standoff.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day face-off 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 impasse ended on August 28.