Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin his two-day visit to India today, 18 August.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Wang Yi’s visit, which comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China trip later this month.
Wang’s visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
The trip also assumes greater significance in view of increasing tensions in India-US relations following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, which included an additional penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian oil.
The Chinese foreign minister will be in India primarily to hold a fresh round of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Wang and Doval are the designated special representatives for the boundary talks.
What is the itinerary?
Wang Yi will land in New Delhi at around 4:15 PM on Monday. At 6 pm, he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for bilateral discussions.
On Tuesday morning, Wang Yi is scheduled to hold a new round of the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval at 11 am.
The meetings could see both sides deliberate on a range of key issues including border situation, trade and resumption of flight services.
The Chinese minister will then call on Prime Minister Modi at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, at 5:30 pm, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The meeting assumes significance as it is taking place days before Modi’s planned trip to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Rebuilding theIndia-China relationship
The Chinese foreign minister’s visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
People familiar with the matter told news agency PTI that the two sides are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Wang’s visit.
Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.
Modi’s visit to China
The two sides will also use the opportunity to lay the ground for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China to attend the annual summit of the SCO to be held on 31 August and 1 September, news agency PTI said.
As per the plan, the prime minister will visit Japan around 29 August and then travel to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit.
Modi’s visit to China is being planned amid efforts by the two sides to repair their bilateral ties, which came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
NSA Doval travelled to China in December last and held the SR talks with Wang, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan.
The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.
The decision to revive various dialogue mechanisms was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi in Kazan on 23 October 2024.
The two sides also initiated several initiatives to rebuild ties, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.
Both sides are also discussing modalities to resume direct flight services between the two countries. The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was not restored in view of the border row.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visited China in the last two months to attend the SCO meetings.
The two sides are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border.
China is the current chair of the SCO.