The second India-China informal summit, to be held in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, next week comes at a time when bilateral relations have been tested by recent events and are unlikely to be a “result-oriented” meeting, people familiar with Thursday’s developments said.

Both sides had hoped to build on the positive momentum created by the first informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra modi and President XI Jinping in Wuhan last April, but now it is likely the upcoming meeting will be more about recalibrating the position to address the two countries ‘ problems, people familiar with the planning of the event said.

Neither India nor China have officially announced the date and venue of the summit, which is expected to take place in Mamallapuram, a 7th-century cultural heritage site located 56 km from Tamil Nadu’s capital, Chennai, during October 11-13. Details are expected to be officially released a few days before the summit.

The two countries are engaged in extensive talks to ensure the smooth passage of the summit after a period marked by new irritants, including China’s strong reaction to India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August. Luo Jiahui, Deputy Minister of foreign Affairs of China and former Ambassador to India, met with Minister of foreign Affairs Vijay Gokhale in new Delhi to discuss preparations for the summit.

“The summit will be held when bilateral relations go through a time of testing, including because of the active role played by China on the Kashmir issue in the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council on behalf of Pakistan,” said the person who declined to speak to Pakistan. be identified so that he can speak freely on the subject.

“It is clear that both sides will not abandon their long-standing position on key issues, and the summit will carefully calibrate positions to satisfy other partners and take care of each other’s sensitivity,” he said.

“In this sense, it will not be a result-oriented meeting, but it will be more useful than some other meetings that we hold at this level,” he added.

The first summit, held after a 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklamin 2017, helped put relations back on an even keel. Modi and XI issued “strategic guidance” to their military to strengthen ties in order to build trust and understanding.

However, China’s strong support for Pakistan following India’s August 5 decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its associative status and reorganize the state into two Union territories puts a significant strain on bilateral relations. China opposed the creation of the new allied territory of Ladakh, despite India’s assertion that the changes had nothing to do with the country’s external borders.

China’s support for Pakistan’s efforts to elevate Kashmir to the UN Security Council in August and Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi’s reference to the issue during his speech to the UN General Assembly last month also irked India. During his speech, Wang reiterated that no unilateral action should be taken to change the status quo in Kashmir, prompting India to say that other countries should not change the status quo through the” illegal ” China-Pakistan economic corridor.

People familiar with the thinking in Beijing referred to other issues that they said have affected bilateral ties, including recent comments by the Indian side on the situation in the South China sea, remarks by the Indian leadership during modi’s recent visit to the US that were perceived as an “attack” on China and recent military exercises in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

The frostiness in relations was reflected by India’s representation at a reception held at the Chinese Embassy on September 26 to mark the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding – the event was attended by a Secretary, not a Minister-and the development of flutter’s position in the diplomatic brotherhood.

Indian officials, who declined to be named, said the summit reflected the maturity of the two countries ‘ leadership. “It is important to meet at the leadership level as it sends a message down the line to get along well even if there are unresolved issues,” one official said.

Leading strategic analyst Brahma Chellani said it was unusual that the two countries had not made any statements regarding the summit and it reflected that ” relations were not exactly smooth.”

“It is also interesting why this summit is being held now, because the time is not right for both sides. China is engaged in a trade war with the US and handling protests in Hong Kong, while India has its hands full with other things. To sum up, the summit will make promises and hype, but it will be lacklustre in terms of results, ” he added.

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