Leaders of India, China to attend five virtual summits this month

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI:

The stalemate on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China continues in the Himalayas with no solution visible on the horizon. The leaders of the two Asian giants are due to attend five virtual summits during this month, but there is little possibility of any bilateral interaction between them.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to join the virtual summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on November 10, the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping on November 17, and the G20 during November 21-22.

And the leaders of India and China are also expected to be part of the East Asia Summit on November 11 and the SCO council of heads of government meeting on November 30, which will be hosted by New Delhi.

The virtual SCO summit, to be hosted by Russia, will be the first time that Modi and Xi will join an online meeting since the border standoff in Ladakh burst into the open in May. The two leaders did join a virtual G20 summit in April this year to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted most diplomatic engagements.

People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that the External Affairs Ministry is making hectic preparations for all these summits and meetings, especially to push India’s efforts to have a greater role in the manufacturing and delivery of vaccines for Covid-19 and in shaping the post-pandemic world order by reforming multilateral bodies and creating more resilient and diverse supply and value chains.

However, the summits and meetings will not result in any substantive bilateral engagements as they are all being held virtually. “In such meetings, there is no scope for things such as pull asides or even bilateral conversations. Besides, some of these meetings will feature numerous leaders presenting their views within a limited time,” one person said.

Russia, which is hosting the SCO and the BRICS summits, had made a push for holding both meetings in-person but was not able to make much headway as leaders of several countries were reluctant to travel amid the continuing spread of Covid-19.

Of all the upcoming meetings, the G20 Summit being hosted by Saudi Arabia is expected to play a key role in efforts to shape the post-pandemic world order and global economic recovery from the impact of Covid-19.

The East Asia Summit is usually attended by Prime Ministers of India and China Modi Li Keqiang, and will be followed by the ASEAN-India Summit.

Sources said Pakistan will be invited to attend the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting being hosted by India. However, there is no clarity on who will represent Islamabad at the meet.