NEW DELHI: As India and China work to stabilise relations and rebuild trust, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to the neighbouring country on June 24-25 — the first high-level Indian ministerial visit since the 2020 border standoff in Eastern Ladakh.
This signals renewed momentum in India-China engagement.
Singh will take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers’ meeting, where he may hold talks with Chinese defence minister Admiral Dong Jun.
This will be Singh’s first visit to China as defence minister, though he had previously travelled there as home minister.
Singh had last met Admiral Dong in Vientiane, Lao PDR, last November at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ meet.
Sources say Singh’s visit reflects the intent of both nations to build on the understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping last October to improve ties.
On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks in New Delhi with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong. The two sides reviewed the state of bilateral relations since their last meeting in January and agreed to focus on “people-centric engagements”, the external affairs ministry said.