Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit India next week for border talks; what's on the cards?

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be in India for a two-day visit on August 18 and August 19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

The top Chinese official will be in India to hold the 24th round of talks on the India-China border talk with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who is New Delhi's Special Representative of the matter.

“At the invitation of National Security Advisor Shri Ajit Doval, Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Wang Yi will visit India on 18-19 August 2025. During his visit, he will hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks on the India-China boundary question with India's SR, NSA Shri Doval,” the MEA said in a statement on the day.

“EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Wang Yi,” it added.

Earlier in the day, China also confirmed its Foreign Minister's visit to India.

Wang, along with NSA Doval, heads the Special Representatives dialogue mechanism aimed at addressing the vexed border dispute spanning the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

India-China relations improving?

Wang Yi's visit to India comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tour to China where he will attend the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit from August 31.

India and China have been working to improve their relationship in recent months, marked by several significant developments.

High-level talks between the two countries have resumed, including meetings between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, later this month.

Moreover, India and China have agreed to disengage and resume patrolling in the Depsang Plains and Demchok areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This move aims to reduce tensions and restore peace along the border.

Both the countries are bearing the heat of global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz.

Chinese and Indian officials have said in recent weeks that the two countries were discussing the resumption of border trade.