EAM Jaishankar likely to make first visit to China in over five years

Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, before traveling to Tianjin to attend SCO's council of foreign ministers on July 14-15

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By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Eltaf Najafizada

  India’s foreign minister will visit China this weekend in his first trip in over five years, people familiar with the matter said, as the two Asian neighbors work to repair ties following deadly border clashes in 2020. 

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, before traveling to Tianjin to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s council of foreign ministers on July 14-15, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. That the ministers are meeting separately from the summit underscores efforst by both sides to repair strained ties, they added. 

The SCO is a China-led multilateral group comprising nine permanent members, including India and Pakistan. 

The two ministers are expected to discuss a range of issues, including rare earth supplies to India, the Dalai Lama’s succession, the recent India-Pakistan tensions, and the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, the people said. 

The Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comments.   

Jaishankar’s visit is the latest in a series of high-profile trips by Indian officials to China since tensions between the two sides began to ease late last year. Last month, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visted China to attend the SCO’s defense ministers’ meeting in Qingdao.  

The officials are likely laying the groundwork for a potential visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO leaders’ summit this fall. Modi has been “warmly” invited, according to an April note sent to local media by China’s ambassador to India, but New Delhi has not yet confirmed his attendance. 

Wang is also expected to travel to India in July to discuss border issues with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, people familiar with the matter said. 

Diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries plunged after June 2020 when clashes between soldiers along the border left at least 20 Indian and an unknown number of Chinese troops dead. As the relations soured, the two countries moved thousands of troops, missiles and fighter jets along parts of the 3,488 kilometer (2,167 mile) unmarked border.

In October, the two agreed to stabilize relations after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi met at the BRICS summit in Russia. 

Since then, Jaishankar has met Wang twice outside China — once at the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last November, and again on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers’ summit in Johannesburg in February.   

While the two nations are trying to normalize relations, tensions continue to linger. India has visa and investment curbs on China, while Beijing’s restrictions on exports such as critical minerals has hit some of its key industries. Earlier this month, China complained to India after Modi sent birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama. Beijing considers the Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist. 

During Singh’s visit last month, India refused to back a joint statement at the SCO meeting due to disagreements over including concerns on terrorism in the document.