PTI, BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will try to reach important consensus to resolve outstanding issues and build mutual trust when they meet for an informal summit in Wuhan in China later this week, a top Chinese official said today.
In New Delhi, sources said the meeting will not have an “issue-based discussion but a strategic conversation between the two leaders to understand each other’s perspective on national and international matters”.
They were asked if the contentious issues like India’s NSG membership bid and China blocking designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN will be raised during the meeting on April 27-28.
Sources also maintained that the summit was not aimed at “resetting” India-China ties.
Briefing reporters in Beijing, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou said, “both sides have agreed not to sign an agreement or release any joint document but reach important consensus to resolve outstanding issues.”
This informal summit is the first of its kind and there is no precedent in each other’s country, he said, explaining why both the leaders opted to hold the summit.
“At the informal summit, the two leaders will have heart-to-heart discussions on overarching issues and try to build mutual trust and consensus to resolve outstanding differences,” Kong said.
Asked whether the Dokalam issue and the boundary dispute will figure in the talks, Kong said Dokalam happened because of lack of trust.
“The two countries need to create conditions and trust between them to resolve the boundary issue,” he added.
Kong said both President Xi and Prime Minister Modi have strategic vision and historical responsibility.
