EAM’s China visit to set stage for Modi’s travel for SCO meet

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s upcoming visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting is expected to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated visit to Beijing for the SCO Leaders’ Summit in August.

The visit will also help set the tone for India-China relations and regional diplomacy. Jaishankar’s trip is seen as a litmus test for how far the two nations have progressed in rebuilding trust since the October 2024 decision to disengage at the last two remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Jaishankar will visit China from July 13 to 15 — his first trip to the neighbouring country since the military standoff began in May 2020. He is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, before heading to Tianjin for the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

This visit follows Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun on June 27, where Singh stressed the need for a permanent solution to the border issue. He also proposed creating a roadmap for permanent de-escalation of troops along the LAC.

At the bilateral meeting with Wang Yi, Jaishankar is expected to discuss border de-escalation, trade normalisation and the resumption of direct flights between the two countries. In Tianjin, he will join foreign ministers from SCO member states — including Russia, Central Asian countries and Pakistan — for multilateral discussions.

Last month’s SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting ended without a joint communiqué due to disagreements over references to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people. Pakistan and host China reportedly opposed the inclusion of any reference to the attack.

Since then, the BRICS group, of which both India and China are members, issued a joint statement condemning the Pahalgam attack.

Last month, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Wang Yi and discussed the need to “promote” bilateral ties. Doval and Wang also serve as Special Representatives (SRs) on the longstanding boundary issue. In October last year, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping tasked them with working out a formula to resolve the dispute.

India and China do not share a demarcated and defined boundary, which has led to repeated tensions and standoffs along the LAC.

Meanwhile, both sides have agreed to resume the sharing of hydrological data on transboundary rivers. They have also decided to hold a ‘functional dialogue’ on economic and trade matters to address and resolve specific areas of concern.

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