Beijing, July 16: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday during a gathering of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers, marking his first visit to China since a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
In a social media post, Jaishankar said he had apprised President Xi of the recent developments in India-China relations, and conveyed greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Called on President Xi Jinping this morning in Beijing along with my fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Conveyed the greetings of President Droupadi Murmu & Prime Minister @narendramodi,” Jaishankar posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties. Value the guidance of our leaders in that regard.”
The brief exchange with the Chinese leader comes amid continuing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), although diplomatic and military talks have been underway in recent years to restore normalcy.
Jaishankar arrived in China on July 14 for a two-day visit to attend the SCO conclave, an annual multilateral gathering that brings together foreign ministers from regional powers, including Russia, China, India, and several Central Asian nations.
India and China have held multiple rounds of high-level talks since the June 2020 Galwan clashes, which resulted in casualties on both sides and plunged bilateral relations to their lowest point in decades. Progress on troop disengagement in some areas has been made, though key flashpoints remain unresolved.
The SCO forum has increasingly served as a platform for India and China to engage in limited diplomatic interactions, even as broader tensions continue to persist in their strategic calculus.
