NEW DELHI, Aug 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Tianjin, China, later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval confirmed on Tuesday during boundary talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In his televised remarks at the 24th edition of the Special Representatives’ Dialogue, Doval said there has been “peace and tranquillity” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in recent months, adding that bilateral engagements have become “more substantial”.
“Our prime minister will be visiting China for the SCO summit, and therefore, today’s talks assume very special importance,” Doval said, calling for “new energy and momentum” in ties.
It is the first official confirmation of Modi’s participation in the SCO summit, scheduled for August 31–September 1 in Tianjin.
Wang Yi, who arrived in Delhi on Monday, is in India primarily for the SR talks, which are expected to review the overall border situation and explore fresh confidence-building measures.
Though troops from both sides have disengaged at multiple friction points, each still maintains about 50,000–60,000 personnel along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. The military standoff began in May 2020 and escalated with the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in June that year, sharply straining bilateral ties.
The standoff effectively ended last October after disengagement at the final two friction points — Demchok and Depsang. Since then, New Delhi and Beijing have moved to normalise relations, resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and reinstating tourist visas for Chinese nationals.
Doval last visited China in December for SR-level talks, weeks after Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping agreed in Kazan to revive dialogue mechanisms between the two countries.
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