National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the other BRICS national security advisers will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday afternoon, officials said, following the BRICS NSA's summit in Beijing.
The five NSAs of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will call on the Chinese President at the Great Hall of the People, officials said, following the BRICS meeting on Friday morning at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.
The call-on is unlikely to provide a platform to discuss substantive issues, and is more a courtesy call. Xi had similarly met with the BRICS Foreign Ministers following their summit in Beijing last month.
Officials said arrangements were also being made for a bilateral engagement between NSA Doval and his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi. This may take place before the BRICS NSA's summit.
Yang and Doval are also Special Representatives on the India-China boundary negotiations.
"On bilateral meetings, I do not have the relevant information right now. As far as we know, in previous meetings, usually it is arranged for the heads of delegations to hold meetings to exchange views on bilateral relations and other international issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Monday.
Lu also stressed that in China's view, "meaningful dialogue" on the stand-off at Doklam was not possible until India withdrew. "China and India have a smooth diplomatic channel," he said. "The crux now is Indian border troops illegally stayed on China's territory. Once again we urge India to pull back to the Indian side of the boundary. I want to stress that this is precondition for any meaningful talks between the two sides."
