Indian envoy hold talks with top Chinese think-tank

BEIJING: Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale today held talks with a state-run Chinese strategic think-tank on improving Sino-India relations which were strained following a 73-day standoff at Dokalam.

Bambawale met with Wu Hailong, President of Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), in Beijing, the Indian Embassy here tweeted.

The CPIFA focuses on people-to-people diplomacy.


"They had candid discussions about India-China bilateral relations and enhancing mutual exchanges," it said.

Since he took over charge in November last, Bambawale has been interacting with Chinese state-run top think-tanks on the improvement of India-China relations affected by a host of issues including last year's standoff at Doklam.

In January, Bambawale visited Pangoal Institution in Beijing and participated in a roundtable discussion with Chinese scholars on the 'Prospects of India-China relations'.

State sponsored think-tanks play influential role in China shaping its foreign policy.

After the 73-day standoff at Dokalam which was resolved on August 28 last year both the countries have stepped up contacts to revive the ties.

Last year marked a new low in India-China ties with issues like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, China's repeated attempts to block India's bid join the Nuclear Suppliers Group and efforts to get leader of the Jaish-e-Muhammad leader, Massood Azhar designated as terrorist by the UN.

The two countries have been holding a series of meeting at various levels to reset the relations.