Stressing that India was strongly committed to a multipolar world and a multipolar Asia, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that New Delhi's foreign policy has always been "independent".
"Where India is concerned, its foreign policy has been principled and consistent, marked by independent thought and action. We are against unilateral approaches to establish dominance. India does not view its relationships through the prism of other nations," Jaishankar told Wang during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro on Monday.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a readout of the meeting on Tuesday evening (Indian Standard Time).
Jaishankar noted that India and China have both "differences and convergences".
He said that both India and China had a "notable contribution" to shaping the eventual outcomes of both BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and G20, as he recalled the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Kazan last month. The meeting in Kazan was the first between Modi and Xi in over five years, with both agreeing to “importance of properly handling differences and disputes”.
"But it was a reminder to us of the importance of our two countries in international politics. It was also an equally significant testimony of why our bilateral relations are so important," Jaishankar further told Wang during the Monday meeting.
According to the MEA readout, Wang concurred with Jaishankar that Sino-India ties had a "particular salience" in global politics.
Wang described the Modi-Xi meeting in Kazan as a "restart" for Sino-India relations, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.
Both the top diplomats also discussed the "next steps in India-China relations" in view of the ongoing disengagement process in Depsang and Demchok sectors. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said earlier this month that both sides have begun “verification patrolling” at both the locations.
"In Kazan, our leaders reached a consensus on taking next steps on our relationship, bearing in mind the understanding (disengagement pact) of 21 October. I am glad to note that on the ground, the implementation of that understanding has proceeded as planned," Jaishankar stated during the meeting.
Jaishankar and Wang agreed that a meeting of the Special Representatives and of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will take place soon. The last Special Representatives (SR) meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Wang Yi was held in 2019.
Significantly, both sides also discussed the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage (a revered site for Hindus in the Tibet Autonomous Region), data sharing on trans-border rivers, direct flights between India and China and media exchanges.