Modi to host China’s president at summit

Khan meets Xi

NEW DELHI, Oct 9, (Agencies): India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping at an informal summit this week, the Indian foreign ministry said on Wednesday, their talks coming at a time of strained ties over the disputed region of Kashmir.

The meeting in the southern Indian city of Chennai on Oct 11-12 is aimed at enhancing the rapport the leaders built when they met in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year to help stabilise ties after a standoff in another contested section of their long border, far removed from Kashmir.

But India’s decision in August to withdraw special status for Kashmir drew sharp condemnation from Pakistan and its old ally, China, which took the matter to the UN Security Council.

During a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing on Wednesday, Xi said that he was watching the situation in Kashmir closely, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi said that the right and wrong of the situation was clear and India and Pakistan should resolve the dispute via peaceful dialogue, according to Xinhua.

India says its revocation of the special status of Muslim-majority Kashmir, which was accompanied by a crackdown on dissent by the security forces, is an internal matter aimed at developing the Himalayan territory, which is also claimed by Pakistan, more quickly.

India will make clear that any change to its Jammu and Kashmir state is an internal affair if the Chinese side were to raise the matter in the forthcoming talks, a government source said.

China’s close security ties with Pakistan have long been a matter of concern in New Delhi and in recent years India has drawn closer to the United States to help balance China’s rising weight across the region.

“The forthcoming Chennai Informal Summit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to continue their discussions on overarching issues of bilateral, regional and global importance and to exchange views on deepening India-China Closer Development Partnership,” the Indian ministry said in a statement.

China, which has been criticised by the United States for its treatment of members of Muslim ethnic minorities, said it believed India and Pakistan must refrain from taking unilateral action in Kashmir and has expressed concern over human rights violations there. India has dismissed those concerns.

Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, said it was important for the nuclear-armed neighbours to stabilise relations as both dealt with domestic and regional issues.

“The second informal meeting as such is significant given these ominous signals at bilateral, regional and global levels,” he said.

Xi will also make a state visit to Nepal at the end of his India visit, the first by a Chinese president in 22 years, the Nepali foreign ministry said.

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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan had a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday and discussed bilateral and regional matters of mutual interests during his two-day official visit.

In a statement, the Prime Minister thanked Chinese President and the government for its principled stand on Kashmir issue during the meeting.

He particular+ly mentioned Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s stand on Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly.

He mentioned that China supported Pakistan in difficult times everywhere.

Khan briefed the president about Pakistan’s present situation, adding Pakistan has come out of difficult economic situation and we will never forget China’s financial cooperation in this regard.

He expressed his gratitude that China has never asked anything for its support against our national interest and helped us without any conditionality.

The premier said that China provided Pakistan an opportunity to come out of very difficult economic situation and appreciated the Chinese support under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.

The meeting came at a time when tensions along the Pakistan-India border and Indian administered Kashmir has risen after Indian government revoked disputed Kashmir’s special status with a presidential order last month.