All eyes will be on Hanoi on Wednesday for the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un . But 2,000km away in a quiet “water town” in China, another meeting will be taking place – one that is less well-known, but equally significant. This other summit in Wuzhen , Zhejiang province, will feature the foreign ministers of Russia , India and China (RIC) – a grouping that has been long dormant, but is now becoming increasingly relevant. It was only on November 30 that the leaders of the three countries had their first trilateral meeting in 12 years on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Over the preceding eight months, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been to both Wuhan and Sochi for “informal summits” with Chinese President Xi Jinping – touted as a relationship “reset” – and Russian President Vladimir Putin , respectively. Traditionally, the China-India relationship has been the weakest of the three and the biggest obstacle to the RIC grouping’s effectiveness. While economic and strategic ties between Beijing and Moscow only look to have deepened in recent years as the two gravitate towards each other in the face of growing global uncertainty, Russia also remains a long-standing and trusted defence partner for India . Why India’s expanding military ties with the US and Russia could put the squeeze on China New Delhi and Beijing, on the other hand, have a more troubled past – though the recent thaw in relations has helped inject new life into the trilateral grouping , especially at a time when India is seeking to exert itself more on the world stage and dispel notions that it is falling into America ’s orbit. The foreign ministers’ summit in Wuzhen is also taking place as tensions between India and Pakistan – the country Beijing likes to describe as its “ all-weather ” partner – are running higher than they have done in years. Early on Tuesday, Indian warplanes flew over the Line of Control that separates Indian- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir to carry out air strikes for the first time since the two countries were at war in 1971. The target was a terrorist training camp run by Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), the Pakistan-based militant group which claimed responsibility for an attack in Pulwama , Indian-administered Kashmir, on February 14 that killed more than 40 Indian security personnel. Many Indian officials believe that China has provided diplomatic cover for Pakistan by vetoing two separate applications at the UN for JeM chief Masood Azhar to be declared a “designated terrorist” and placed on an international sanctions list – thereby emboldening other terror groups based in the country. China resists India’s call to have JeM chief labelled a terrorist Following the Pulwama attack, Beijing responded cautiously. Its foreign ministry put out a statement condemning the violence, but there was no criticism of Pakistan for harbouring terrorists . Instead, it called for both sides to avoid escalation. On Thursday, however, China acquiesced to a more strongly worded statement from the UN Security Council that named JeM – thereby implicating its host country – for the first time. No doubt the bigger test will come when the council moves forward on a third application to sanction Azhar in the coming weeks. A third veto from Beijing would cast serious doubt on India’s continued rapprochement with China. Sushma Swaraj, India’s foreign minister , is planning to raise the Pulwama attacks and call for China’s support at the UN during talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, according to Indian officials. China, for its part, is likely to repeat its calls for de-escalation. At their meeting in November, Xi, Putin and Modi struck a concordant note on a number of issues, from reforming and strengthening global institutions such as the World Trade Organisation , to defending a multilateral trading system and “an open world economy” – in an apparent rebuke to Trump, whose trade policies have been of particular concern to both Beijing and New Delhi. Another area where they have spoken of working more closely together is Afghanistan , where they share some common concerns. China and India can succeed in Afghanistan where US, Russia failed But for all the talk, there are still problems with the China-India relationship. Chinese officials often like to point out how they helped dial down tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 that killed 174 people. That atrocity was orchestrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba, another Pakistan-based militant group . At that time, Beijing supported the UN’s designation of Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of the group, as an international terrorist. Yet 11 years on, India’s patience over China’s lack of support is wearing thin. If, in this instance, China decides to protect Azhar with another veto, it will all but put an end to any meaningful future counterterrorism cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing, despite the many shared concerns. And terrorism is only one of the sticking points. Much work still remains to be done on other topics that were seemingly agreed upon last year in Wuhan, from working together on joint projects in third countries to bridging the more than US$50 billion trade imbalance in China’s favour. For India and China, uncertainty is the only sure thing about 2019 Both sides, now more than ever, need to demonstrate deliverables to sustain the rapprochement and ensure that the second bilateral “informal summit”, planned to be held in India this year, actually takes place. The Wuzhen summit on Wednesday may lack the drama of Hanoi. But make no mistake: beyond the headlines, there is certainly a lot riding on the outcome. Ananth Krishnan is a Visiting Fellow at Brookings India and previously a China correspondent for India Today and The Hindu