Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India on August 18 for talks under the Special Representative mechanism, just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled trip to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin later this month.

The SCO Summit, set for August 31–September 1 in Tianjin, will host leaders from over 20 countries, including all SCO member states and 10 international organizations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China welcomes PM Modi’s participation, describing the summit as a “gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results.”

This marks PM Modi’s first visit to China since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which strained bilateral relations. A recent agreement between India and China on patrolling along the nearly 3,500 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) ended a four-year-long border confrontation, paving the way for renewed dialogue.

Over recent months, high-level engagements have increased. In July, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited China for the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, meeting Wang Yi and calling on President Xi Jinping. In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in China but declined to endorse the joint declaration due to the omission of terrorism concerns. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also participated in the SCO Security Council Secretaries’ meeting, urging decisive action against UN-proscribed terrorist groups and their networks.

Wang Yi’s upcoming visit is expected to set the stage for substantive discussions on border management, regional security, and strengthening bilateral ties, ahead of the Tianjin Summit.