External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is undertaking a significant three-day visit to Singapore and China from July 13 to 15, 2025.

This marks his first trip to China since the severe downturn in bilateral relations following the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, which included a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley.

The visit is seen as a crucial step in the ongoing efforts to stabilise and improve India-China relations after both sides finalised a disengagement agreement for the last friction points in October 2024.

In Singapore, Jaishankar will hold meetings with his counterpart and the country's leadership as part of regular diplomatic exchanges. These talks are expected to focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and regional issues relevant to both nations.

In China, Jaishankar will participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (CFM) in Tianjin. The SCO meeting will bring together foreign ministers from member states to discuss cooperation and major international and regional issues, and will help lay the groundwork for the upcoming SCO Leaders’ Summit, likely to be held in Tianjin in early September. On the sidelines of the CFM, Jaishankar is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings, including with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to address key issues in the India-China relationship and to further normalise ties.

Recent months have seen several high-level interactions between India and China, including visits by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to China for SCO-related meetings. Both nations have taken steps to repair ties, such as resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after a five-year hiatus and discussing the resumption of direct flights.

The revival of the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism and other dialogue formats was agreed upon during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in October 2024, following the disengagement pact at Depsang and Demchok.

The agenda for Jaishankar’s visit to China is expected to cover a range of sensitive issues, including securing rare-earth supplies for India’s technology and defence sectors, the Dalai Lama’s succession, India-Pakistan tensions within the SCO framework, and ongoing border management and delimitation discussions.

The visit is widely viewed as an important diplomatic engagement aimed at consolidating recent progress and addressing outstanding challenges in the bilateral relationship.

Based On A PTI Report