The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is going to India on August 18 to meet with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval as part of the Special Representatives arrangement. This visit happens just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on August 31.
The visit is another step in the ongoing work by both India and China to fix their relationship, which was badly hurt by the deadly border confrontation in the Galwan Valley in 2020. The combat, which killed 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown but higher number of Chinese soldiers, was the worst in six decades for relations between the two countries. Since then, both countries have agreed to pull down their forces from eastern Ladakh, Depsang, and Demchok.
There have been a number of diplomatic meetings in the last few months. Last month, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar went to China for the SCO foreign ministers’ conference. While he was there, he also met with Wang Yi. Before that, Rajnath Singh, the defense minister, went to the SCO defense ministers’ meeting in June. In another hint that things are getting better, both countries have apparently told their airlines to start flying directly between New Delhi and Beijing again.
External reasons, like US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on India, have also played a role in the change in relations. Reports say that these tariffs have made New Delhi rethink its diplomatic relationships with China.