What India-China foreign ministers meeting brings to the table?

New Delhi: Indian Foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting on Thursday in New Delhi.

In a tweet, Dr S Jaishankar said, "Our discussions were focussed on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship, especially peace and tranquillity in the border areas."

This meeting is more important as India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting and several G20 meetings before the central G20 Summit in September 2023.

Nearly three years after the standoff, India, and China, on February 22 (ten days before the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi), held a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing, breaking the stalemate.

Officials of India and China reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control and discussed proposals for disengagement on the tense borders.

India wants China's President Xi Jinping to attend both SCO meetings in July 2023 and G20 summit in September 2023.

Meanwhile in G20 meetings, on the one hand, India is balancing between Russia and the US and their allies. On the other hand, it wants its agenda of "Terrorism and Trade" to be accepted and not vetoed by any summit member.

Somewhere on the back burner, it seems talks between India and China are being held. India wants to retain its neutral position and not necessarily ally with the US lobby or Russia/China axis. India wants a third axis with the support of the Global South that may support either the bipolar world or stay neutral.

A couple of weeks ago, Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor, visited the US and met top officials, including the home secretary and NSA; to the UK and met top officials, including the Prime Minister of the UK; to Russia and met Putin and other chief security officers.

A lot is being read on this whirlwind visit, and that too when India is holding the chair of SCO and G20 and some peace talk vibes from China are reaching New Delhi.

Just a week after the visit, the Indian team led by the Joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs reached Beijing to discuss proposals for disengagement from the remaining areas in eastern Ladakh in J&K.

For India-China talks, the platform and Confidence Building measures have been taking place for the last two years:

On the occasion of the New Year in 2022 and 2023, Indian and Chinese military forces exchanged greetings, sweets, and candies at the border region, including some "friction points."

February 2021: Chinese and Indian troops at the south and north bank of the Pangong Tso Lake began disengagement after the top military commanders meeting.

August 2022: Chinese and Indian troops at the heights of Jianan Daban began to disengage in a coordinated and planned way after the India-China military commanders meeting in July 2022.

Both sides immediately subsidised the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh in December 2022.

Observers believe India and China want to heal the damaged wounds of bilateral strategic mutual trust, more so as both countries suffered economic growth post Covid-19.