Striking a note of reconciliation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) that the bilateral relationship between India and China is facing an “important opportunity”.
Speaking at the 24th meeting between the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question, Mr. Wang indirectly referred to the negative impact of the 2020 Galwan clashes and said, the “setbacks” of the recent past did not advance the “interest of the people” of both countries.
Responding to the positive sentiment from the Chinese side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) evening, announced that he will meet President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tianjin, China, and said “stable, predictable and constructive ties” between New Delhi and Beijing will help in “global peace and prosperity”.
“The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of the people of our two countries, and in October last year, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held an important meeting in Kazan. That meeting pointed the direction for the development of our bilateral relations and provided impetus for the proper settlement of the boundary question,” said Mr. Wang in his remarks, recollecting the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi during the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan.
Later in the evening, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Mr. Modi, where the Prime Minister also recounted the importance of the meeting with President Xi and said, “India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities.” During the meeting, Mr. Wang handed over a personal message and invitation from President Xi to the Prime Minister for the SCO summit. Mr. Modi conveyed his acceptance of the invite to Mr. Wang, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
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“I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,” said Mr. Modi after the meeting, which was a special gesture from the Indian side to the Chinese Foreign Minister. The Ministry of External Affairs said that during the meeting, Mr. Modi emphasised the importance of a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question”.
Mr. Wang referred to the SCO Heads of State Council meeting in Tianjin and said, “Now the bilateral relationship is facing an important opportunity for improvement and growth. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister’s visit to China to attend the SCO summit at our invitation. We believe the Indian side will also make a contribution to a successful summit in Tianjin. History and reality proved once again that a healthy and stable China-India relationship serves the fundamental long-term interests of both of our countries. It is also what the developing countries all wanted to see.”
During his talks with Mr. Wang, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Indian Special Representative (SR), described last year’s SR-level talks in China as “wonderful” and said that there has been an “upward trend” in India-China ties in recent months. “I am very hopeful that, like the last one, these 24th Special Representative-level talks will be equally successful. Our Prime Minister will be visiting for the SCO summit shortly, and therefore this SR-level talk assumes a very special importance,” said Mr. Doval, announcing the visit of Prime Minister Modi to China, which will be his first since the Galwan clashes.
Foreign Minister Wang arrived here on a two-day visit on Monday (August 18, 2025) and hours later held a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who emphasised that the process of withdrawal of troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) needs to “move forward”. The MEA said that during the talks, Mr. Jaishankar “strongly raised” the issue of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, the all-weather friend of China, and reminded that one of the “original objectives of SCO” was to counter terrorism.
Referring to the differing perceptions regarding the LAC, Mr. Wang recounted the 23rd round of Special Representatives meeting that was held on December 18, 2024, in China and said, “At that meeting, we reached a new and important consensus on the management of disagreements, stabilising the borders and moving toward a settlement. We identified specific goals and formed a new working framework. We are heartened to see the stability that is now restored in the borders.”
The Indian side also expressed concern regarding the construction of a mega dam on the upper reaches of Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and sought “utmost transparency” regarding the project.
Sources said that Mr. Wang assured Mr. Jaishankar that China will address India’s needs for fertilisers, rare earth minerals and tunnel boring machines.
Mr. Wang’s visit has come at a time when India’s relations with the United States are facing trade-related uncertainties that are getting balanced by increased conversation among Russia, India and China. This Russia-India-China angle may find reflection in Moscow as Mr. Jaishankar is expected to reach Moscow later this week.
Published – August 19, 2025 01:08 pm is