Jaishankar Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing After 5 Years, Discusses Border Peace and Bilateral Ties
EAM S. Jaishankar met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday during his first trip to China in five years.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) July 15: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting. He informed the Chinese president about the latest developments in their bilateral relations.
He posted, “Called on President Xi Jinping this morning in Beijing along with my fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Conveyed the greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties. Value the guidance of our leaders in that regard" on social media platform X.
Border peace stressed
During his discussions with his counterpart Wang Yi earlier in the day, Jaishankar stated that both nations had "made good progress in the past nine months for the normalisation of our bilateral relations." He attributed this to efforts to maintain peace and settlement of border disputes.
He said, “This is the fundamental basis for mutual strategic trust and for smooth development of bilateral relations. It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation.”
Jaishankar emphasised the importance of increased connectivity and communication. Both the countries have agreed to restart direct flights and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. They have also decided to work together on trans-border rivers by exchanging hydrological data.
Trade and terror talks
Jaishankar reminded Wang of the terrorism threat before the SCO conference. He said, “the primary mandate of the grouping is to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism. This is a shared concern and India hopes that zero tolerance for terrorism will be strongly upheld.”
The two leaders had not met since the June 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley, which proved to be fatal. A disengagement deal addressing the last two grounds of contention, Demchok and Depsang was signed in October 2024.
Since then, both countries have made the decision to reactivate the bilateral dialogue procedures that had been put on hold during the border dispute.
The Union Minister also advised China to refrain from "restrictive trade measures and roadblocks." He refers to Chinese export prohibitions on essential minerals.
He also emphasised that competitiveness shouldn't turn into conflict and that disagreements shouldn't turn into arguments.
The purpose of the visits is to prepare the way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anticipated trip to China for the SCO Leaders' Summit later this year.
However, a number of issues have surfaced as the two countries work to stabilise their relations. The topic of the Dalai Lama's succession and China's consistent support of Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror incident are two main issues of disagreement.
Aadrika Tayal
