External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to arrive in Beijing on Sunday evening, marking his first visit to China in five years, amid cautious diplomatic efforts to ease ongoing tensions following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
Jaishankar’s China visit is part of a two-nation tour, which included Singapore earlier this week. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday. Their last meeting took place in February on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Johannesburg, where both sides emphasized the need for mutual trust and support.
The visit coincides with the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, scheduled in Tianjin on July 15, which Jaishankar will attend. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that bilateral meetings will also be held on the sidelines of the summit.
This trip is significant as it follows earlier visits by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval, both of whom travelled to China in June for SCO-related engagements. Wang Yi is also expected to visit India next month for SR-level talks with NSA Doval, aimed at reviving the long-stalled dialogue on the India-China boundary dispute.
However, several contentious issues threaten to overshadow Jaishankar’s visit:
- Recent trade disruptions by China involving key exports to India such as rare earth magnets, fertilisers, and equipment for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.
- China’s ongoing support to Pakistan, especially during the recent May clashes, continues to be a sticking point.
- Disagreements within SCO, with India refusing to sign a joint statement at the defence ministers’ meet due to absence of references to terrorism — reportedly due to Pakistan’s objection — could repeat during this week’s foreign ministers’ session.
The SCO, a 10-member Eurasian bloc including China, India, Russia, Pakistan, and Iran, has become a critical diplomatic platform, although internal rifts and bilateral tensions often complicate consensus.
India’s relations with China hit a historic low after the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which led to the death of soldiers on both sides — the worst border incident in over four decades. Since then, military and diplomatic channels have remained largely dormant, though a brief exchange between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia in late 2024 appears to have revived some momentum for engagement.
Amid these developments, some positive signs have emerged, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after nearly five years.
Whether PM Modi will attend the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Tianjin later this year remains uncertain. India chaired the SCO in 2023, while Pakistan hosted the 2024 summit.
Jaishankar’s visit is seen as a test of how far the two Asian giants are willing to go in restoring diplomatic equilibrium, against a backdrop of strategic mistrust and unresolved border tensions.