Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is set to visit India on August 18 for the 24th Round of Talks between the Special Representatives of China and India concerning the boundary question, as confirmed by Beijing. The visit will take place from August 18 to 20, during which Wang Yi, who also serves as a Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, will engage in discussions at the invitation of the Indian government.
This diplomatic overture comes just ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned trip to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, scheduled from August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its welcome for PM Modi’s participation, with spokesperson Guo Jiakun stating, “China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit.” He further emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts, hinting that the summit would be a platform for solidarity and productive results, propelling the SCO into a new phase of high-quality development.
The upcoming summit is notable for its scale, with leaders from over 20 nations, including all SCO member states and heads of 10 international organizations, expected to attend. This makes it the largest summit since the organization’s inception, according to Jiakun.
The backdrop of this visit is significant, as it marks PM Modi’s first trip to China since the Galwan clash in 2020, an event that severely strained bilateral ties. The current talks are seen as a breakthrough since the June 2020 standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that led to a four-year-long border confrontation. Both nations have since reached an agreement concerning patrolling along the nearly 3,500-km LAC, paving the way for renewed dialogue.
Earlier this year, in July, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Tianjin for the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, where he met his Chinese counterpart and even engaged with Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside other SCO Foreign Ministers. Moreover, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s June visit to China for the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting also spotlighted ongoing tensions, as India refrained from endorsing a joint declaration largely due to concerns over terrorism being inadequately addressed in the document.
In his previous engagements, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attended the 20th Meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in June, where he called for decisive actions against UN-sanctioned terrorists, urging an end to double standards in counter-terrorism efforts.
These diplomatic exchanges signify a cautious but promising trajectory in Sino-Indian relations, providing a crucial platform for addressing lingering disputes and fostering cooperation in the region.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2025/08/16/chinese-foreign-minister-wang-yi-to-visit-india-on-monday/
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Publish Date: 2025-08-16 15:41:00
