New Delhi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in New Delhi on 18 August, today, for a two-day visit, where he is set to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for a crucial round of bilateral talks.
His visit comes at a delicate time, as tensions simmer in India-US relations following US President Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian exports to 50 per cent, along with an additional 25 per cent penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil.
The trip is widely viewed as part of renewed efforts by India and China to mend ties strained since the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.
On Monday evening, Wang will hold discussions with Jaishankar before participating in the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary issue with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday morning. Both Wang and Doval are the designated SRs for boundary negotiations.
Talks are expected to cover confidence-building measures along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), trade and the long-pending resumption of direct flight services between the two countries. Later on 19 August, Wang will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg at 5:30 pm.
The timing of the visit is significant, coming just ahead of PM Modi’s planned trip to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin later this month, following a stop in Japan. Despite troop disengagement at some friction points in eastern Ladakh, nearly 50,000–60,000 soldiers remain deployed on each side of the LAC.
Recent months have seen Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar travel to China for SCO meetings, while the two sides have revived dialogue mechanisms, resumed visa issuance and explored restarting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, signalling cautious steps toward normalisation.
