China President Xi Jinping is planning to visit India in as early as February. This is being seen as a move to counter Washington’s increasingly antagonistic trade policy and aggressive Indo-Pacific diplomacy.
Xi is expected to discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi measures to defuse border tensions, as well as propose deals to expand imports of Indian farm products and increase cooperation in advanced technologies, according to local media reports.
Xi hopes to visit ahead of India’s general election due by April/May, according to Nikkei Asian Review portal.
Tensions between China and India flared in the summer of 2017, with troops facing off across the border for three months.
To resolve the mouting tension, Xi and Modi met for an informal summit in China in April 2018, with both leaders agreeing to avoid further border confrontations.
Xi’s visit is also expected to help China counter US President Donald Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy of deepening cooperation with Japan, India, Australia and other regional players to curb China’s influence.
New Delhi is also wary of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. It did not send senior officials to the first international forum about the initiative hosted by China in 2017.
