Jaishankar meets China President Xi Jinping during SCO summit, five years after…

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Tuesday, met Chinese President Xi Jinping as both countries attempt to reset ties following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar is on his first China visit in five years of Galwan clash.

Jaishankar, who is in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting, said he apprised the Chinese President of the recent development in bilateral ties. It is his first visit to China since bilateral ties witnessed a severe downturn following the Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020.

“Called on President Xi Jinping this morning in Beijing along with my fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Conveyed the greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties. Value the guidance of our leaders in that regard,” Jaishankar tweeted.

What happened in Galwan Valley?

In 2020, twenty Indian soldiers, including a commanding officer, and an unspecified number of PLA men were killed in the hand-to-hand combat, which was one of the most serious military confrontations between the two countries in decades.

In October 2024, a disengagement agreement was reached covering the final two friction points, Demchok and Depsang.Since then, both nations have decided to revive bilateral dialogue mechanisms, which had been in cold storage since the border standoff.

What Jaishankar said?

According to reports, the Union Minister has urged China to avoid ‘restrictive trade measures and roadblocks’ and acknowledged that both nations have made good progress on normalization bilateral relations. “We have made good progress in the past nine months towards the normalisation of our bilateral relations… It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” he said.

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