China’s top diplomat Wang Yi set for key talks with Modi in India

Wang Yi will also meet India’s top intelligence chief Ajit Doval in New Delhi ahead of his talks with Modi

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is set to meet with India’s prime minister Narendra Modi as part of a two-day visit to Delhi, the latest sign of warming ties between the two Asian giants.

Mr Wang landed in Delhi on Monday and met with his Indian counterpart, foreign affairs minister S Jaishankar. He was also expected to meet with national security advisor Ajit Doval before sitting down with Mr Modi on Tuesday.

The discussions are expected to cover a range of issues, including the mending of their bilateral relationship and coordination between their two militaries after a deadly 2020 clash along their disputed Himalayan border.

That skirmish derailed relations between the two countries, but an agreement last October on how to patrol the border has eased a five-year standoff that hurt trade and investment and saw all direct flights suspended.

The visit by Mr Wang will also be used by both sides to lay the ground for Mr Modi’s visit to China to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security bloc meeting to be held on 31 August and 1 September, Indian media reports said.

Chinese (foreground) and Indian soldiers (R, background) during an incident where troops from both countries clashed in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley, in the Karakoram Mountains in the Himalayas (CCTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Modi is set to leave for Japan on 29 August for a bilateral visit and end the tour with a visit to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit. This will be the Indian leader’s first visit to China in seven years.

The two countries share a 3,488km border that runs from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. China holds a big piece of territory called the Aksai Chin in Ladakh that it won during a 1962 war and claims Arunachal as part of the province of Tibet.

Ties between India and China were severely damaged after at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. It was the first time in 45 years that a clash on the border had led to fatalities.

The clash quickly turned into a standoff, with both sides stationing thousands of soldiers backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the border. The troops blocked each other from patrolling their claimed areas.

Indian army convoy carrying reinforcements and supplies, drive towards Leh, on a highway bordering China (Getty Images)

In the aftermath, India clamped down on Chinese firms, prohibiting them from investing in critical economic sectors and banning Chinese apps such as TikTok.

In October 2024, however, Beijing and New Delhi agreed on a significant military disengagement at a key border flashpoint. The deal came after a rare formal meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Mr Modi during the Brics summit in Russia.