NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a three-day visit to China starting July 13.
This becomes his first trip to the neighbouring country since the two countries reached an understanding on ending the border face-off last October, putting in place measures to normalise the ties.
During the visit, Jaishankar will first hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi besides attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting on July 14–15 will Tianjin.
The visit comes at a time when New Delhi and Beijing are making a series of attempts to stabilise a relationship that plummeted following the deadly military standoff in eastern Ladakh in 2020.
Since the agreement last October, both sides have engaged in multiple rounds of diplomatic and military dialogue aimed at de-escalation.
Jaishankar’s discussions with Wang are expected to focus on further withdrawal of troops from friction points along the LAC, restoring peace-time measures, and exploring avenues to normalise the ties by building the trust, sources said.
This will be the latest in a series of high-level engagements between India and China under the SCO framework. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently attended the SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in China, while National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri have made separate visits to participate in security and diplomatic consultations.