Jaishankar to Visit China for SCO Meet, First Since 2020 Border Standoff

External affairs minister S Jaishankar is likely to go to China in the third week of July to take part in a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting and for bilateral interactions with important Chinese leaders, officials familiar with the issue said.

First Visit for Jaishankar Since 2020 LAC Standoff

This will be Jaishankar’s first visit to China since a military standoff in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which began in April-May 2020, plunged bilateral relations to their lowest point in six decades. Since India and China reached an understanding on ending the face-off last October, Jaishankar has met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the margins of multilateral events several times.

Bilateral Talks with Wang Yi Ahead of SCO Foreign Ministers Meet

Jaishankar will also travel to Beijing for a bilateral meeting with Wang prior to attending the meeting of the SCO Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs on July 14 and 15, the individuals said on condition of anonymity. The bilateral meeting will be a follow-up to a series of senior-level meetings between Indian and Chinese officials aimed at normalising ties and resolving the long-standing border row.

Jaishankar to Focus on De-escalation, Trade Normalization, and Connectivity

Efforts to accelerate de-escalation and troop withdrawal to peacetime locations along the LAC and steps to normalise relations in fields like trade and people-to-people contacts are likely to feature in Jaishankar’s talks with Wang, the individuals stated. Although the two sides recently agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet after a five-year gap, Beijing has urged normalization of trade and restoration of direct flights.

Indian Concerns Over Rare Earths and Market Access

The Indian side has also raised China’s export restrictions on rare earth minerals used in everything from smartphones to electric cars and in many of which Beijing has a near-monopoly and long-standing issues regarding inadequate access to Chinese markets.

National security adviser Ajit Doval travelled to China last December and in June to participate in a meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing. Doval and Wang, the Special Representatives for the border issue, also met in a bilateral meeting. This was followed by a visit by defence minister Rajnath Singh to participate in a meeting of the SCO defence ministers in Qingdao. At a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun, Singh demanded a structured framework of “permanent engagement and de-escalation” and urged a “permanent solution of border demarcation”.

All Eyes on the Upcoming SCO Council of Ministers Meeting

The next SCO Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting will be keenly observed whether it brings forth a joint communique. The last month’s meeting of COAS defence ministers of the SCO could not release a communique as India was adamant on not signing the document when Pakistan demanded that it could not mention the Pahalgam terror attack.

Jaishankar will also be holding bilateral talks with Russian and some of the Central Asian counterparts on the sidelines of the SCO meet.

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs typically holds a month prior to the SCO Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be present at this year’s summit, and it will be his first trip to China since the LAC military standoff.