'Trust rather than suspect': Chinese foreign minister urges bilateral cooperation with India at SCO Summit

India and China needed to de-escalate at the border, pull back troops, and avoid "restrictive trade measures" to normalise their relationship, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday.

The two had been speaking on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, in which Beijing's foreign minister Wang Yi reportedly expressed his country's willingness to “safeguard the multilateral trading system” and thus ensure “stability of the global production and supply chain with India”, as per a Hindustan Times report.

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This is Jaishankar's first visit to China after a four-year military standoff followed a 2020 border clash, which impacted bilateral ties until October 2024, when troops on both sides mutually retreated.

Jaishankar's comments come amid Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urging his Chinese counterpart for a "permanent (bilateral) solution" to the border dispute just last month.

Jaishankar also underlined the need for cooperation on trans-border rivers, including the resumption of provision of hydrological data by the Chinese side. 

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Wang Yi also declared that both sides should “trust rather than suspect each other; cooperate rather than compete with each other”, as per a Reuters report. 

In that regard, EAM Jaishankar also stated that ties between New Delhi and Beijing had significantly developed since India's PM Modi met Chinese premier Xi Jinping at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 2024.

Appreciating the Chinese side's cooperation towards the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, as well as bilateral moves such as the facilitation of  direct flight connectivity, Jaishankar noted ongoing activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.

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These attempts at restoring bilateral ties come amid the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs—as well as separate duties on various materials and an additional 10 per cent tariff on BRICS nations. Both India and China are a part of the bloc.

EAM Jaishankar will be in Tianjin tomorrow for the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, and to attend other SCO-related events.

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