New Delhi

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will travel to China on a four-day visit tomorrow during which she will hold talks on “issues of concern” with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and attend Russia-India-China (RIC) meeting.

Swaraj will be accompanied by new Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar among other senior ministry officials. It will be Jaishankar’s first foreign trip after being appointed two days back, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure was abruptly “curtailed”.

Jaishankar has served as India’s Ambassador to China for nearly four years before being appointed as Ambassador to US in 2013.

During her trip, Swaraj will “discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of concern to both sides” with her Chinese counterpart, MEA has said.

The two sides will also explore the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Wang had visited India last year immediately after the installation of the Modi government.

In her talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang, Swaraj is likely to discuss Prime Minister Modi’s expected pilgrimage to Kailash and Manasarovar in Tibet, making him the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the Himalayan region.

Since Xi’s visit, China has made efforts to implement its commitment to open a second route for the Kailash Yatra pilgrims through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, one of Modi’s cherished wish to provide safer and easy access to pilgrims.

Chinese officials took Indian Ambassador Ashok K Kantha on a week long tour of Tibet to show him the arrangements being made by them to open up the route before Modi’s arrival in the next few months.

Swaraj along with Wang will also set the stage for implementation of a host of commitments made by China, including the USD 20 billion investments in two Chinese industrial parks in India, modernisation of Indian Railways and China’s plans to conduct a feasibility study to build a high speed train in New Delhi-Chennai corridor.

Noting that both sides attach “great importance” to Swaraj’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had said in Beijing that bilateral ties between the two largest developing countries and major emerging economies were progressing in a “sound and stable way”.

“Our cooperation has made some headway. We are enhancing mutual political trust and practical cooperation in various fields. We are in sound coordination and cooperation in regional and international issues,” she said.

The External Affairs Minister will also attend the RIC meeting with her Chinese and Russian counterparts. The meeting was earlier scheduled to take place in August but Swaraj cancelled her travel which was to take place just ahead of Modi’s visit to Japan.

Swaraj will also inaugurate the 2nd India-China High- Level Media Forum and attend the launch of Visit India Year during her stay in Beijing.

She will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the RIC trilateral meeting.

During her stay in China, which is first since she took over office last year, Swaraj is also expected to meet President Xi.

It will be the Chinese leader’s first meeting with a top Indian leader after his own high-profile visit to India in September last year during which he had met Prime Minister Modi setting the stage for a rejuvenated Sino-Indian ties.

She is also expected to highlight India’s concerns over the widening trade deficit which has now reached USD 38 billion out of about USD 70 billion trade last year.

China has been assuring that it will open up for Indian IT and Pharmaceutical sectors besides investments to address India’s concerns.

Her visit will also set the pace for the 18th round of border talks in which National Security Advisor Ajit Doval would be representing India for the first time as Special Representative.

The talks to be held after Swaraj’s visit are expected to focus on mutual claims of the about 4,000 km long Line of Actual Control.

China attaches great importance to Swaraj’s presence at RIC meeting to be held here on February 2 in the backdrop of acrimonious US-Russia tensions over Ukraine and the growing rapprochement between Beijing and Moscow as a result.

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