- By Shivangi Sharma
- Wed, 13 Aug 2025 05:12 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to India next week for high-level discussions with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the long-standing border conflicts and wider security issues between the two nations. The meeting is seen as a crucial step in re-engaging top-level diplomatic and security channels ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Tianjin, China, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This will be PM Modi’s first trip to China since 2018, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside other regional leaders.
Precursor To Modi’s China Visit
Wang Yi’s trip is being framed as part of the groundwork for Modi’s participation in the SCO summit, which China has described as a “gathering of solidarity, friendship, and fruitful results.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, while confirming Beijing’s welcome for Modi’s attendance, said the summit would mark “a new stage of high-quality development” for the SCO, with greater solidarity and coordination among members.
Doval and Wang Yi had their last encounter in June at the SCO National Security Advisers' meeting in China. Their discussions in New Delhi in the near future are likely to include the Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation, de-escalation mechanisms, and the overall bilateral agenda, including trade and multilateral cooperation.
US Factor In India-China Dynamics
The timing of Wang's visit is also against the backdrop of strained relations between India and the US, which were initiated by US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 per cent base tariff on Indian imports, to go up to 50 per cent as further punishment for India's acquisition of Russian oil. The step follows Washington's pressure campaign against China, pointing to a common experience for New Delhi and Beijing of coping with an unreliable US trade policy.
The common challenge of addressing US trade and strategic pressure could introduce new dimensions to the talks, even as there are still outstanding issues of dispute and distrust.