Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday during his two-day visit to India, in a development widely viewed as part of renewed efforts to stabilise strained bilateral ties following the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Wang will arrive in New Delhi on Monday evening and hold a series of meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The talks are expected to focus on a range of strategic issues including the border situation, resumption of flight services and new confidence-building measures aimed at restoring peace along the Line of Actual Control.
The visit also comes just days before Modi’s planned trip to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, scheduled for August 31 and September 1.
In a statement, the MEA said India attached “high priority” to its relations with Nepal under its Neighbourhood First policy and emphasised that the visit “continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges”. Officials added that Wang’s meetings will provide an opportunity to review the current state of bilateral ties and prepare ground for the prime minister’s visit.
Also read: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Visit India on August 18-19
People familiar with the developments said Wang and Doval will meet on Tuesday morning for the 24th round of the Special Representatives dialogue on the boundary question. Both sides will review the overall situation along the LAC and discuss possible mechanisms for de-escalation, even as around 50,000–60,000 troops remain deployed on either side of the border.
Although India and China have disengaged from certain friction points in eastern Ladakh, a full pull-back of frontline forces has yet to be achieved.
During the visit, the two sides are also expected to discuss the resumption of direct flight services, which were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained halted amid the ongoing border standoff.
Analysts note that Wang’s trip is especially significant given rising tensions in India-US relations following Washington’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods and impose an additional penalty over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian crude.
The revival of dialogue comes months after NSA Doval’s visit to China in December and a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan, where both sides agreed to revive various communication mechanisms.
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