Jaishankar to Visit China for SCO Meet, Set for Bilateral Talks with Wang Yi

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to China this weekend for a three-day visit starting July 13, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting. The SCO is a China-led regional alliance comprising nine permanent members, including India, China, and Pakistan.

During the visit, Jaishankar is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ahead of the multilateral engagement, as earlier reported by Hindustan Times. This marks Jaishankar’s first visit to China in over five years, and comes amid ongoing efforts to stabilize relations that have remained strained since the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

According to Bloomberg, the upcoming talks in Beijing may cover a broad range of sensitive and strategic issues, including rare earth mineral exports to India, the resumption of direct flights, the Dalai Lama’s succession, and India-Pakistan relations.

While the two foreign ministers have met multiple times on the sidelines of international forums, this visit signals a more direct attempt at dialogue following the partial easing of tensions last October.

After his bilateral engagements in Beijing, Jaishankar will travel to Tianjin to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers on July 14–15. Wang Yi is also expected to visit India later this month for further discussions with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, focusing on resolving the ongoing border disputes.

The visit is part of a broader diplomatic push to normalize ties. Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China for the SCO defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, while Ajit Doval was in Beijing in June for the SCO Security Council Secretaries’ meet. Doval and Wang, who serve as Special Representatives on the border issue, also held bilateral talks during that visit.

Jaishankar’s upcoming trip highlights the continued high-level engagement between New Delhi and Beijing aimed at managing tensions and rebuilding diplomatic trust.