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PM Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping will hold talks in China on April 27-28

This will be Modi's fourth visit to China since taking over as Prime Minister in 2014 and comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10

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Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj greets her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing on Sunday
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold an informal summit in China's Wuhan city on April 27- 28 as the two countries are putting in efforts to normalise diplomatic ties that suffered a blow after last year's Doklam military standoff.

The two leaders will exchange views on bilateral and international issues aimed at improving mutual understanding, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday, adding, "It's a new landmark in the China and India history.... The two countries have no choice but pursue everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and a common development," he said. A series of high-level diplomatic engagements preceded the announcement.

Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is currently in China for a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). She asserted the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas as an "essential pre-requisite" for the smooth development of bilateral relations.

Modi will be visiting the central Chinese city in Hubei province at the invitation of President Xi, Wang said at a joint media event with Swaraj after their talks.

This will be Modi's fourth visit to China since taking over as Prime Minister in 2014 and comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held at Qingdao city on June 9-10.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also travelled to China.

A 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops last year in Doklam, as India opposed to road construction by China, had triggered a diplomatic row.

"The two leaders will have communications of a strategic nature concerning the once-in-a-century shifts going on in the world. They will also exchange views on overarching long-term and strategic matters concerning the future of China-India relations," Wang said.

Calling India and China "natural partners" in cooperation, he said that the common interests of the two countries outweigh the differences. The exchange of ideas between the two ideas is expected to deepening the mutual trust between the two nations.

Swaraj said she discussed with Wang the preparations for the informal summit between the two leaders that will be an important occasion for them to exchange views on bilateral and international matters.

Swaraj said both leaders will also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and explore the future direction of the multifaceted engagement between India and China with a view to strengthening their closer developmental partnership.

On bilateral ties, she said, the progress made by the two countries in the last few months has also contributed to building trust and understanding. "We have agreed to maintain the momentum of these exchanges," she said. She said the two countries have agreed that as two major countries and large emerging economies, the healthy development of bilateral ties was important for the emergence of an Asian Century.

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