Beijing, April 13 (IANS): India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday met China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi ahead of important visits by two Indian ministers in April and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in June.
Doval met Yang in Shanghai and both were understood to have discussed bilateral ties and visits by the leaders of their countries.
Yang was Doval's counterpart as China's State Councillor on boundary talks with India until March. He was later elevated to the higher post of the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Their last meeting was in New Delhi in December as special representatives of their countries on the 20th round of protracted border talks.
The Indian Embassy in Beijing denied to comment on whether Doval would meet China' State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Indian's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be in Beijing on April 24 where they will discuss a host of issues with their counterparts.
Modi will meet Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in June.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are scheduled to be in Beijing on April 24 to attend different meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and interact with their counterparts from the member states.
The eight-member SCO, in which India was a latest entrant along with Pakistan, is due to hold its summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao in June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the summit and also hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The SCO comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
Ahead of the summit, the organisation which is focused on anti-terrorism cooperation is holding a host of ministerial and officials' meetings to work out a firm agenda for the summit to provide a new direction to the grouping.
SCO Foreign and Defence Ministers meetings are scheduled on the same day on April 24 and almost around the same time, according to officials here.
The visits of Swaraj and Sitharaman are the first high-profile visits by Indian ministers after last year's 73-day long standoff at Dokalam.
The two ministers are expected to hold bilateral meetings with their Chinese and other counterparts.
Since December, the two sides are trying to reset the relations and looking to iron out differences on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and China blocking the efforts to designate Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the UN.
