On Friday, first India, China high-level mechanism on people-to-people exchanges

The first India China High-Level Mechanism on People-to-People Exchanges which was one of the outcomes of the informal Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place on Friday in Delhi. The meeting will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two ministers will also open the India-China High-Level Media Forum Inaugural Session.

Replying to a question by the media, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "This is the first meeting of India China High-Level mechanism on cultural and people to people exchange. The decision to establish a special mechanism was taken during the informal summit between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi. Reflects desire of the two sides to build synergy on people to people exchanges."

Chinese foreign minister who is on a four day India visit from December 21 to 24 will also visit Aurangabad and Mumbai. A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during his India visit.

The year 2018 saw a reset in India-China ties which went under strain last year due to Doklam standoff in Bhutan. The standoff between the armed forces of the two countries occurred after the Chinese army attempted to build a road in Bhutan's Doklam area. The conflict was resolved after several rounds of talks.

The current year saw Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting four times. The two leaders first met at the Wuhan informal summit, followed by bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit in China, BRICS summit in South Africa and the G20 summit in Argentina.