China, India hold formal talks on building closer bi-lateral ties

NEW DELHI – In the first formal talks between China and India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office last month, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi,  has told India’s Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, that China is willing to build a closer and more comprehensive partnership with India. The two spoke of increasing Chinese investment into Indian industrial parks and both said there was tremendous untapped potential for growth of economic ties.

China is India’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching US$49.5 billion in the April-December period, according to Indian Government data. The two countries have an ongoing border dispute, but have worked to prevent it from affecting economic ties. India says China occupies 38,000 sq km of its territory in Jammu and Kashmir, while China lays claim to 90,000 sq km of land in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.