External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has set the stage for an “outcome-driven” visit to China by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, softening the ground for a substantive boundary dialogue, and accelerating the pace for Chinese investments to India.
Exact dates of the Prime Ministerial visit have not been fixed, but Mr. Modi will arrive in China before May 26, the date when the government completes one year in office.
In an interaction with the media after marathon talks with her counterpart, Wang Yi, Ms. Swaraj said the Chinese side endorsed the Indian perception that differences between the two countries on the alignment of their territorial boundaries would not be handed over to the next generation. She acknowledged that the leadership in both countries had the “political will to think out of the box” to find a solution to the problem that had triggered the 1962 war.
During talks, both sides concluded the “exchange of notes” on the new alternative route for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through the Nathu La pass in Sikkim. The journey time from the Nathu La pass will be reduced to 12 days, compared to the 22 days it takes through the Lipu Lekh pass in Uttarakhand.
