India and China are taking further steps to improve their bilateral relations as Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong is scheduled to visit India this week for talks. This visit marks the second high-level bilateral interaction between the two countries this year, following Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's trip to Beijing in January. During Misri's visit, he and Sun Weidong agreed on several measures aimed at normalizing relations between the two nations.
Sun Weidong's two-day visit is a continuation of the positive momentum gained after the completion of the troop disengagement process in eastern Ladakh. This disengagement concluded nearly five years of military stand-off that had strained the relationship between India and China. The disengagement paved the way for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Russia in October, followed by the resumption of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks on the Boundary Question two months later.
During his visit, Sun Weidong is expected to meet with National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, in addition to holding talks under the foreign secretary-vice minister mechanism. Doval is also expected to host Chinese Special Representative Wang Yi, who also serves as the foreign minister, for another round of SR talks later this year. The upcoming meeting will allow India and China to assess the progress made since the announcements in January aimed at normalizing the relationship.
One significant development stemming from the January talks was the agreement to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025, a long-standing request from India. Cooperation on trans-border rivers has also seen progress. However, direct air services between the two countries have not yet resumed, despite an agreement "in principle" to do so in January.
The two sides are also likely to discuss the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting China in September, potentially marking the culmination of a year focused on improving bilateral relations. Modi has received an invitation to attend the SCO summit in Tianjin, but his participation is still pending confirmation.
In January 2025, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit to Beijing also aimed to advance the normalization of relations after the disengagement of forces on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) the previous year. Misri met with Sun Weidong, who previously served as China's envoy to India at the start of the standoff on the LAC. During that visit, both sides reviewed the state of India-China bilateral relations and agreed to take steps to stabilize and rebuild ties. This included resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 and holding an early meeting to discuss the resumption of hydrological data sharing and other cooperation related to trans-border rivers. The two sides also agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges and, in principle, to resume direct air services between the two countries.
These high-level interactions and agreements signal a concerted effort by both India and China to move beyond the tensions of recent years and work towards a more stable and cooperative relationship. While challenges remain, particularly regarding the border dispute and trade imbalances, the resumption of dialogue and practical cooperation measures indicates a positive trajectory for India-China relations.
