China’s Central Committee of the Communist Party delegation to arrive in India with a 5-day visit

Almaty. January 3. Silkroadnews - A delegation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will arrive in India with a 5-day visit, The Times of India reports.
“Differences over key issues between India and China will not come in the way of the 2 countries ramping up political contacts. India will host a 6-member delegation of the powerful Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for 5 days starting Wednesday,” the report said.
The delegation will be headed by Meng Xiangfeng, deputy director of the Central Office of the CPC Central Committee. The visit’s agenda includes the meetings to be held at the level of two states’ ministers.
This will be the third high-profile visit. In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on an exchange program to expand contacts between Indian states and Chinese provinces.
Ironically, a delegation from China will arrive in India on the day when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will begin her three-nation tour in Southeast Asia – to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia - looking to further boost “intensive bilateral interactions” between India and the countries of the region. First, Swaraj will visit Thailand, where she will meet with her counterpart Don Pramudwinai to discuss bilateral issues, focusing on political, defense and economic ties and further strengthening India’s interaction with the ASEAN countries. Thailand will assume the role of coordinator in relations between India and ASEAN in mid-2018.
Beijing will closely monitor the implementation of a number of important commitments that the government of India has undertaken in connection with the 25-year partnership between India and ASEAN, including an invitation to the heads of government of all 10 ASEAN countries for the Republic Day parade of India. Several countries in the region, who believe that India can act as a counterweight to China, have repeatedly called on India to step up its presence in South-East Asia.