Chinese FM Wang Yi visit shows maturity of relationship: Diplomat

Notwithstanding China not being in favour of India joining the NSG club and recent "transgression" by the PLA in Uttarakhand, a Chinese diplomat said on Friday said Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit shows "maturity" of bilateral relationship between the two countries.

"The shared interests far outweigh the differences. The visit shows the maturity of our relationship. It shows that there is a lot of scope to continue with discussions and dialogues," Chinese Consul-General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwu said.

Wang arrived today on a three-day visit, starting his itinerary from Goa, the venue for the October BRICS Summit.

He would hold talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Delhi today on key regional and bilateral issues, including China's "thwarting" New Delhi's bid for NSG membership. Admitting that there are lots of differences between the neighbouring countries including differences over NSG, Zhanwu said the two nations must not fail to see the bigger picture. "Ours is a very important relationship. The differences are not that important. Our relation is strong and differences are nothing new," Zhanwu said.

Wang's visit also comes just days after Chinese troops "transgression" in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand last month. When asked about the agenda of the meeting of the foreign ministers tomorrow, the consul-general said they would talk about the shared interests of India and China.