Subramanian

Responding to Jaitley’s announcement, Subramanian said his job as the CEA has been the most “rewarding, fulfilling, exciting” he ever had.

The opposition Congress said Subramanian’s exit was not a surprise as all ‘financial experts’ in the Narendra Modi government are fed up of its “collossal economic mismanagement’’ and are stepping down.

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala cited the examples of ex-Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in this regard.

Asked if Beijing was distancing itself from Luo’s comments, Geng said, “What I said represents the official position of the Chinese side.”

India and Pakistan made their SCO debut earlier this month when China hosted the annual summit in the coastal town of Qingdao. The two countries had joined the eight-country security grouping last year.

Both India and Pakistan were China’s friends, Geng said. “We are willing to conduct relations with all our neighbours, including Pakistan and India, to strengthen our cooperation for better development and stability in this region,” he said.

Speaking at seminar on SinoIndo ties in New Delhi, Luo had said “some Indian friends” had suggested trilateral cooperation comprising India, China and Pakistan under the aegis of the SCO. He called it a “very constructive idea”.

Luo was talking about ties between the two countries following the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan.

Luo, who earlier served as the Chinese envoy to Pakistan, also said Sino-Indo ties wouldn’t be able to take the strain of another Doklam, a reference to 73-day military standoff at the IndiaBhutan-Tibet tri-junction last year.

He also emphasised the need to find a “mutually acceptable solution” on the boundary issue through a meeting of Special Representatives.

India’s ministry of external affairs dismissed Luo’s proposal.

“We have not received any such suggestion from the Chinese government. We consider it as his personal opinion. Matters related to India-Pak relations are bilateral in nature and have no scope for any third county’s involvement,” the ministry said in a statement.

In May 2017, just before the Belt and Road Initiative summit in Beijing, which India stayed away from, Lou said it was possible to rename the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor to accommodate New Delhi’s concerns. The comments were subsequently removed from the transcript posted on the website of the Chinese embassy.