Beijing March 19 (IANS) China on Monday promoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi as State Councillor the country s top diplomatic post which conventionally entitles him to be the key negotiator on border talks with India. But Beijing was mum on whether he will be China s point-person on the vexed boundary issue.
Wang succeeds Yang Jiechi China s senior-most diplomat currently China s Special Representative on border talks with India.
So far the high-level post of Special Representative has always been held by someone who had the background of China s Foreign Ministry.
Before being elevated to State Councillor in 2013 Yang served as the Foreign Minister. His predecessor Dai Bingguo was China s Deputy Foreign Minister.
Asked if Wang will be China s next Special Representative on border talks Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: "The China-India special representative meeting is a high-level channel for the border issue exchange. It s also a level high mechanism for exchanges between the two sides.
"China attaches great importance to this mechanism. As (to) who will be the Special Representative we will wait and see " Hua added.
While Wang will remain the Foreign Minister Yang s role was not immediately known.
A hawkish Yang was elected to the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party last year.
He was a shoo-in for Vice Premiership but his name did not figure in the list of four prime ministers announced on Monday.
Asked about Yang s future role Hua said: "We all know that Yang Jiechi is the member of Politburo and he will continue to play a role in China s diplomacy."
If Wang is appointed the key man for border talks he will deal with India s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval who is its Special Representative on boundary talks.
China and India by far have held 20 rounds of talks on their 3 448 km of disputed border. The countries fought a war in 1962 and have seen their armies cross into each other s territories due to the different perceptions of the boundary.
Wang repeatedly slammed India during the 73-day military stand-off at Doklam in the eastern sector of their border last year.
The crisis which further soured the already tense ties was resolved in August.
Wang however struck a positive tone about Sino-India ties while addressing the media on the sidelines of China s ongoing annual Parliament session.
Wang said if China and India were united then one plus will be equivalent to 11 a remark welcomed by India and answered in similar tone.
India s Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale last month met Wang who had a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Wang had previously served as China s envoy to Japan and worked at the Asia desk of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
A foreign minister s job in China is not a top-notch one as the international units of the Communist Party have more say in the formulation of Beijing s foreign policy.
However Wang s elevation indicates a bigger role for him.
--IANS
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