Zhang Wanshi
India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Qingdao set to be held from Wednesday to Thursday, Indian media reported.
Singh will depart on Wednesday for Qingdao to attend the SCO Defense Ministers’ Meeting, ANI News reported. The report by Bloomberg noted that this is his first trip to China in five years, during which he will focus on regional and global security and counter-terrorism.
The two sides are likely laying the groundwork for a potential visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SCO leaders’ summit this fall, Bloomberg reported. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is also expected to visit China in the coming weeks for the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday during his meeting in Beijing with India’s National Security Adviser and Special Representative for the China-India Boundary Question Shri Ajit Doval that recently, there have been some positive developments in the relations between the two countries, which require both sides to further strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, and strive to resolve practical issues.
Both sides should focus more on cooperation, strengthen exchanges at all levels and across sectors, and support each other on multilateral platforms such as the SCO, Wang added.
Doval said that the two sides should promote practical cooperation in various fields, properly handle border issues, and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. He added that India is willing to strengthen cooperation and coordination with China in the multilateral arena and fully supports China in hosting a successful summit as the rotating chair of the SCO.
The frequent interactions between officials from both sides reflect a trend toward resuming engagement, strengthening communication, and rebuilding mutual trust following the BRICS Summit in Kazan last year, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Singh’s visit, which signals support for the host country, also demonstrates India’s willingness to ease tensions and promote defense relations with China, Qian noted.
This trend in high-level exchanges suggests that the momentum toward improving China-India relations remains resilient despite the evolving international and regional dynamics, Qian added.
Long Xingchun, a professor at the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, told the Global Times that although some concrete progress has been made between the two countries, the outcomes remain relatively limited. He noted that both sides should further strengthen contact and communication.
“If officials from both sides can communicate smoothly and resolve many practical issues, it will pave the way for Modi’s official visit to China.” Long said that after experiencing a sharp deterioration, the relationship between the two countries is now striving to return to a normal track. Whether Modi will visit China or not is a key indicator for observing the direction of China-India relations. GT
