New Delhi: Marking the revival of another institutionalised exchange, foreign secretary Vikram Misri met with Sun Haiyan, vice minister of the Communist Party of China’s international department (IDCPC) on Wednesday (January 14), stressing the need for a “right environment” to advance India-China relations.The meeting at Hyderabad House on the final day of Sun’s three-day visit represents the first high-level India-China engagement of 2026.According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the discussions prioritised “business and people-centric engagements”, as well as ways to carry bilateral engagement forward in the new year.Misri emphasised that “creating the right environment” is essential for progress, the press note asserted.As per the MEA’s press release, Sun briefed the foreign secretary on her impressions from the visit, which included interactions with Indian media, think tanks and political parties, and conveyed Beijing’s expectations of expanding exchanges under the MEA-IDCPC programme.The MEA-IDCPC initiative has been previously projected as a platform for structured political dialogue that allows interaction between Indian states and Chinese provinces.Indian officials had said earlier the programme is intended to build mutual understanding, noting that several senior leaders in China’s current leadership have visited India under its framework.However, like other institutional channels, this exchange program was suspended during the four-year military standoff in eastern Ladakh.During her visit to India, Sun met with senior BJP leaders at the party headquarters on Monday, with discussions focused on enhancing communication between the BJP and the Communist Party of China. The following day, the Chinese delegation met with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale.The visit comes against the backdrop of a thaw in India-China relations after years of strain following the military standoff that began in April-May 2020.The rapprochement gained momentum following the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024. Just before the summit, India announced a new border agreement with China on disengagement and patrolling arrangements along the stand-off points at the Line of Actual Control.Since the Kazan meeting, China has restarted the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 and direct flights between the two countries have resumed after a five-year hiatus.India also agreed to ease visas for Chinese businesses, while both countries have pledged to resume border trade at designated points.