Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit India on August 18 ahead of PM Modi's China visit

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is set to visit India on Monday, August 18, for the 24th round of talks between the Special Representatives of China and India on the boundary question, Beijing confirmed on Saturday. 

His three-day trip comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31–September 1.

"From August 18 to 20, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs and China's Special Representative on the China-India boundary question Wang Yi will visit India and hold the 24th Round of Talks Between the Special Representatives of China and India on the Boundary Question at the invitation of the Indian side," the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Wang to hold talks with NSA Doval, Jaishankar

During his visit, Wang will hold border talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, his Indian counterpart in the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue framework. It is also learnt that he will have a separate meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

The NSA had travelled to China in December last year and held SR talks with Wang, shortly after Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in Kazan to revive several dialogue mechanisms between the two countries. The meeting in Delhi is expected to build on those commitments.

PM Modi’s first China visit since Galwan clash

Prime Minister Modi is set to travel to Japan around August 29 and, after concluding the trip, will fly to Tianjin for the SCO Summit. His participation marks his first visit to China since the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020, which had severely strained bilateral ties.

At a recent briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, "China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness."

According to Beijing, leaders of over 20 countries, including all SCO member states and 10 international organisations, are expected to attend, making it the "largest summit in scale since the establishment of the SCO."