India, China setting new trend with informal meeting: Gautam Bambawale, Indian ambassador to China

As Indian Prime Minister gets ready to meet Chinese President Xi at Wuhan, the city is all set to host the two world leaders.

The meeting dubbed as "informal" is being seen as a significant turn in India-China relations after the 73-day standoff over Doklam last year.

"It is quite possible that they might talk about their views of how each of their countries is going to develop in the coming 15 or 20 years," Gautam Bambawale, Indian ambassador to China, said.

The last time PM Modi had met President Xi was in China's eastern city of Xiamen for the BRICS summit. This time the two leaders will engage in "candid dialogue" over pressing issues, however, no official statement or MoU will be signed by either country over the next two days during the summit.

The Indian ambassador conceded that there would be "no set agenda for their talks", although the two leaders might take a boat ride or walk in the park at Wuhan. 

"They might talk about the current world situation and in what directions the world is progressing. They might talk about how India views China and how China views India," the Indian ambassador said.

The ambassador added that the Modi and Xi will meet in an informal, friendly setting as they discuss various issues.   

"When two leaders of big countries meet, then they don’t talk about specific micro issues," Bambawale said, adding,"India, China will be setting a new trend with the informal meeting."