External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will embark on a three-day official visit to China from July 13, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Friday. The visit will begin in Beijing and culminate in Tianjin, where Jaishankar is scheduled to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Summit. China currently holds the rotating presidency of the SCO.
This marks Jaishankar’s first direct visit to China since the deadly Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which caused a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations between the two neighbours. Since then, the two countries have held multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks but have made limited progress in fully de-escalating tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
High Stakes Dialogue
While Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have met briefly on the sidelines of multilateral events like the G20 and BRICS, this will be the first high-level direct bilateral engagement on Chinese soil since the Galwan incident. Diplomatic observers view this visit as an important opportunity to break the prolonged deadlock on the border issue and explore cooperation under the multilateral SCO framework.
The SCO summit will bring together foreign ministers from key regional players including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Central Asian nations, and is expected to address regional security, trade, counterterrorism, and connectivity issues.
