New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin a two-day visit to India on Monday, a trip that comes amid efforts by New Delhi and Beijing to rebuild ties strained since the Galwan Valley clashes of 2020.
Wang is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi around 4:15 pm and will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at 6:00 pm. On Tuesday, he will meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for a fresh round of the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question at 11:00 am, before calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, at 5:30 pm, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The discussions are expected to focus on confidence-building measures along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where nearly 50,000 to 60,000 troops from both sides remain deployed in eastern Ladakh. Despite troop disengagement at some friction points, full-scale de-escalation has yet to be achieved. Trade, resumption of direct flights, and people-to-people exchanges are also likely to feature in the talks.
Wang’s visit assumes significance as it comes days ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s scheduled trip to China later this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. Modi is expected to first visit Japan on August 29 before travelling to China.
This is Wang’s second round of SR talks with NSA Doval in less than a year, following their December 2024 meeting in Beijing. That dialogue was held weeks after Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in Kazan to revive suspended mechanisms of engagement, including border talks, cultural exchanges, and connectivity initiatives.
In recent months, both countries have moved cautiously towards normalisation, resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, restarting tourist visas for Chinese nationals, and exploring modalities for flight services that were halted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The visit also comes against the backdrop of shifting geopolitical equations, with reports highlighting growing strains in India-US ties following Washington’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods and penalise New Delhi for its purchase of Russian oil.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar both travelled to China in recent months to attend SCO meetings, signalling renewed engagement. Wang Yi’s Delhi visit, officials say, will test how far the two neighbours are willing to go in addressing core differences and charting a roadmap for a more stable relationship.
