Wang Yi and India’s national security adviser are expected to hold the latest round of border negotiations
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India next week for the latest round of border negotiations with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the PTI news agency reported on Wednesday.
Wang and Doval are the designated special representatives for talks on settling the border dispute, which has strained relations between the two Asian nations since they fought a brief border war in 1962. Next week’s meeting will be the 24th round of negotiations between the countries.
Wang’s visit comes amid reports that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on August 31 in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
Doval last visited Beijing in June and met with Wang, who then said China-India relations have made “positive progress.”
⚡️Chinese FM Wang Yi to Visit India Next Week – Hold Talks with NSA Doval
It comes as India and China are making significant steps to improve relations. pic.twitter.com/InhcbG5B84
Next week’s meeting between Wang and Doval marks a further step in the diplomatic rapprochement between the two neighbors, which gained momentum after Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan. The talks come after a period of strained relations following a 2020 border clash in the Himalayas that resulted in casualties on both sides.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the neighbors are set to restart direct passenger flights as early as next month.
This week, Indian media outlets also reported that the two nations are discussing the resumption of border trade after more than five years.
The improvement in New Delhi-Beijing ties comes as India’s relations with the US are facing challenges, following President Donald Trump’s decision to sharply increase tariffs on Indian goods, citing concerns over India’s imports of Russian oil.
In July, senior officials from Beijing, Moscow, and New Delhi showed interest in reviving the RIC (Russia-India-China) trilateral format.
