india

Updated: Sep 17, 2019 23:56 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a two day informal summit at heritage town Mamallapuram near Chennai next month with the Special Representative dialogue on boundary issues likely to happen later in the year.

While the Modi government is tight-lipped about the informal summit, the issue was taken up at the diplomatic level with newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong today making his customary calls to high offices. The main date of the summit is October 12 and India’s diplomats have conveyed this to its friends in South East Asia.

Although the informal summit has no agenda, with the two leaders discussing all international issues candidly, government officials said trade ties between the two countries as well as the West Asian crisis in the wake of drone attack on Aramco’s refinery will be on the high table. Iran has informed India that it has nothing to do with the attack and blamed it on Yemen’s Houthis.

However, Saudi Arabia has blamed Tehran for orchestrating the attack on its soil as a result of which the Sunni and Shia shoulders of Islam are at loggerheads. Just as the US is ready to back Saudis to take on Iran, both China and Russia will be backing Tehran. India has criticised the attack on Saudi Arabian oil refinery without holding any one responsible.

During the informal summit, Chinese President Xi, who is already facing internal and external flak for the handling of Hong Kong issue, may ask India to ensure that there is no flare-up with Pakistan in the context of abrogation of article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. PM Modi is steadfast that the issue is an internal matter of India.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss regional issues such as the stability of Afghanistan as well as the way ahead for resolution of the India-China border in the wake of Beijing sending in early harvest proposals. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was supposed to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi mid-September for the SR level talks but the dates could not be firmed up, leading to postponement.