New Delhi, July 13: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to Tianjin, China, on July 15 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting, marking his first visit to the country since the 2020 border standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting on Saturday, saying that foreign ministers of SCO member states and heads of the bloc’s permanent bodies “will exchange views on SCO cooperation in various fields and major international and regional issues.”
In addition to participating in the SCO gathering, Jaishankar will also undertake a bilateral visit to China. However, no details of that engagement have been disclosed.
The SCO currently comprises 10 member countries: China, India, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
The visit comes just weeks after Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart Gen Dong Jun on the sidelines of the SCO defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao on June 26. Singh proposed a “structured roadmap” to ease border tensions and urged China to take “action on the ground” to restore trust following the deadly 2020 clashes in eastern Ladakh.
He also called for efforts to establish “good neighbourly conditions” between the two Asian powers.
Responding to Singh’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “The boundary question is complicated, and it takes time to settle it.”
India and China completed troop disengagement at two major flashpoints – Demchok and Depsang – in October 2021, effectively ending a prolonged military face-off. The decision to revive dialogue mechanisms, including the Special Representatives (SR) talks, was taken during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, shortly after the disengagement agreement.
Relations have also seen signs of improvement in recent months, including the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra after a five-year pause – a symbolic gesture indicating an easing of tensions and a step towards rebuilding people-to-people ties.
Jaishankar’s visit signals a cautious yet deliberate diplomatic outreach amid lingering mistrust over the border issue and ongoing efforts to stabilize ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
