Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi on June 12 during his two-day visit to India (June 12–13, 2025), according to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Both sides took stock of how India-China relations have progressed since their previous talks in Beijing on January 27, 2025. They agreed to continue working on stabilising and improving ties, especially by focusing on people-to-people exchanges.
Foreign Secretary Misri welcomed China’s support in restarting the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. He also mentioned discussions from the April 2025 Expert Level Mechanism meeting on transboundary rivers, expressing optimism about restarting the sharing of hydrological data and collaborating further in this field.
The two countries also agreed to fast-track the process of resuming direct air connectivity and to work towards finalising an updated Air Services Agreement soon. In addition, they agreed to ease visa processes and encourage interactions between media, academic institutions, and think tanks.
The MEA stated that both sides had a positive outlook on upcoming activities to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and China and pledged to support these commemorative efforts.
In a broader context of cooperation, India also raised the issue of supply chain predictability for rare earth elements, which are crucial for industries like automobiles. These materials were recently subjected to new export regulations by China.
“We are in contact with the Chinese authorities, both in New Delhi and Beijing, to ensure predictable trade flows in line with global norms,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly briefing.
He added that India had been engaging with China ever since April when the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs introduced export controls on some rare earth products.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had reached a trade agreement with China after rigorous talks. The deal reportedly guarantees rare earth supplies from China to the U.S., a development that could have global implications for supply chain dynamics.