Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India in Bangkok, Thailand, on Aug 1, 2019. (PHTO / FMPRC.COM)

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to strengthen bilateral relations with India in a visit that also catches wide global attention.

Wang, who has just visited Islamabad, is expected to meet India's national security adviser Ajit Doval and external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other political leaders, according to a source.

Among the issues to be discussed are students from India who face pandemic difficulties in returning to campus in China for study or seeking home trips back to India.

Among the issues to be discussed are students from India who face pandemic difficulties in returning to campus in China for study or seeking home trips back to India

The senior diplomats are likely to exchange views on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and discuss border and bilateral trade.

Wang’s visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his condolences to Chinese people after flight MU 5735 crashed in southern China on Tuesday with the loss of all 132 passengers and crew on board.

In September 2020, Jaishankar and Wang held wide-ranging discussions in Moscow on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO. The two foreign ministers also held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of another SCO meeting in Tajikistan capital Dushanbe in July last year, followed by another meeting in September.

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In recent times China has also expressed apprehension after India blocked the access of 231 Chinese apps in India since June 2020 citing the reason that the apps “pose a threat to India’s security".    

In Islamabad, Wangi proposed a four-point formula to upgrade strategic and pragmatic cooperation with Pakistan at a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart. Wang also met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Indian visit of Wang Yi carries significance also because China and India have taken a common stand toward Russia. Both nations are calling for peace while they abstained from a vote last month on a United Nations draft resolution on Russian military operation against Ukraine.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.