New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a much-anticipated bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, during which both leaders are expected to review the thaw in India-China ties and pave the way for further normalisation of relations, not just at the borders but also on the economic front.
Modi will also meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will visit India in December, on Monday and take stock of bilateral ties. The PM is expected to raise the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war and weigh in on the need for a ceasefire and talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, even as Modi—on his first visit to China in seven years to participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional security bloc—holds two separate meetings with the two leaders, sources in the know said there will be no meeting of the Russia-India-China bloc called RIC.
The sources said it is too early for an RIC meet and right now, the focus is on bilateral ties and regional blocs like the SCO and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and five other countries).
Work under the RIC format was stalled, first because of the COVID-19 pandemic and later the India-China military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
Under the RIC framework, the foreign ministers of the three countries used to meet periodically to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of their interest.
The PM’s back-to-back meetings with Xi and Putin and improvement in India-China ties come amid tensions in relations with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed an additional tariff of 25 percent on India as “penalty” for continued purchases of Russian oil. The total tariff on Indian goods stands at 50 percent.
Sources said India is ensuring that while they continue to have an independent foreign policy based on its own and mutual interests, it does not want any move to be taken as directed at someone.
Trump has railed against the BRICS, describing it as an “anti-American” grouping. The US President has highlighted discussions on de-dollarisation among some members as proof of the bloc’s “anti-US” stance. However, India has maintained that de-dollarisation is not on the BRICS agenda.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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