Beijing: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began his first visit to China in five years with a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing on Monday. The visit comes amid signs of slow but steady improvement in India-China relations following years of tension.
Jaishankar said he was “pleased” to meet Han Zheng soon after arriving in Beijing. He conveyed India’s support for China’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and noted that bilateral ties had improved in recent months.
“Our relationship has been steadily improving since the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan last October,” Jaishankar said during the meeting.
He also mentioned that the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is widely welcomed in India, and added that further normalisation of ties could lead to positive outcomes for both countries.
Jaishankar emphasised the importance of open and direct communication between India and China, especially at a time of global uncertainty. “As neighbouring nations and major economies, an open exchange of views is very important,” he said.
This is Jaishankar’s first trip to China since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which strained relations between the two countries. His visit follows those of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who travelled to China in June for SCO-related meetings.
On this trip, Jaishankar is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two had last met in Johannesburg in February, on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers’ gathering.
Jaishankar’s visit is part of a two-nation tour, with Singapore being the first stop. The SCO foreign ministers’ meeting is scheduled to be held in Tianjin on Tuesday.
Wang Yi is also expected to visit India next month to meet NSA Doval. Their meeting will be part of the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism, which is focused on resolving the long-standing India-China boundary dispute.
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