SCO conclave: Rajnath Singh likely to visit China next week; India-China ties in focus

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh's anticipated visit to China next week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave marks a significant diplomatic development.

If the visit takes plae, it would be the first instance of a high-ranking Indian minister travelling to China since bilateral relations became strained following the military tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that commenced in May 2020.

PTI quoted offiials indicating that both New Delhi and Beijing are currently finalising arrangements for Singh's visit. The SCO defence ministers' meeting is set to take place in Qingdao from June 25 to 27, with discussions potentially including a bilateral session between Singh and Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun.

China, as the current SCO chair, is organising this ministerial gathering.

The eastern Ladakh military situation, which began in May 2020, including the serious Galwan Valley incident in June that year, had considerably affected relations between the two countries.

The tensions subsided after completing the disengagement process from the final friction points, Demchok and Depsang, through an agreement reached on October 21, 2024.

In December, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's Beijing visit included discussions with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi under the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue framework regarding boundary matters.

The restoration of SR mechanism and similar dialogue formats was established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting in Kazan on October 23.

The Modi-Xi discussions occurred shortly after both nations confirmed the disengagement agreement for Depsang and Demchok.