Sushma Swaraj to pay four-day visit to China; also to attend RIC

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will go to China on a four-day visit starting from January 31 during which she will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, attend Russia-India-China trilateral as well as India-China media forum.

During the visit, the two sides will also explore the possibility of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year. Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Wang had visited India last year immediately after the installation of the Modi government.

According to officials, during the "substantive" visit, the two sides will focus on entire gamut of bilateral ties which will include cooperation in the key area of trade.

The minister will also attend the RIC meeting with her Chinese and Russian counterparts. The RIC meeting was earlier scheduled to take place in August but Swaraj cancelled her travel which was to take place just ahead of Modi's visit to Japan.