India asks China to follow One-India policy, hopes for ‘solid’ visit by China President

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India later this month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has projected that the outcome of the visit will be “substantial,” but also sent out a tough message across, saying Beijing should reciprocate India’s one-China policy by following one-India policy.

The outcomes to Xi’s India visit later this month “will be substantial and solid,” Sushma Swaraj said in response to a question from India Writes Network.

Swaraj stressed that India’s relationship with China had elements of cooperation as well as competition. Alluding to a good meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi has with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, Swaraj said this had helped establish “a very good equation” between the two leaders.

India’s foreign minister showed a streak of assertiveness when asked about China’s practice of issuing stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, India’s northeastern state, which is claimed by Beijing. She said China should follow one-India policy just as India follows one-China policy. We also expect that they understand our concerns about Arunachal Pradesh, she said. This message was conveyed by her to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he visited India in June.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit India September 17-19, his maiden visit to Asia’s third largest economy and a country which is often portrayed as a rival by sections of the think tank community. The visit is expected to generate substantive outcomes, including a formal decision on sites for Chinese industrial parks in India and pledges of massive Chinese investment in the infrastructure sector.

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