Overview

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a two‑day visit on August 18, meeting External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar before the 24th round of Special Representatives talks with NSA Ajit Doval and a scheduled call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Jaishankar urged a candid approach guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” pressed for progress on border de‑escalation, and flagged counterterrorism as a priority.
• Both governments discussed practical steps to normalise ties, with the Kailash Mansarovar yatra resumed, tourist visas for Chinese nationals restarted, and talks ongoing on restoring direct flights and limited border trade.
• Despite disengagement at some friction points, each side is still estimated to keep roughly 50,000–60,000 troops in eastern Ladakh, underscoring that full pullbacks remain unresolved.
• The visit also serves preparatory work for Modi’s planned trip to Tianjin for the SCO summit on August 31–September 1, as Beijing signals intent to implement leader‑level understandings and manage differences.