Chinese FM Wang Yi to Visit India as PM Modi Plans First China Trip in 7 Years; Direct Flights Likely to Resume

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will arrive in India on Monday for talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval under the Special Representatives mechanism on the border issue, according to confirmed reports from Indian and Chinese media. The visit comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected trip to China later this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.

File Photo Source: AbhinavPratap_S on X

Wang’s meeting with Doval is part of ongoing diplomatic engagement to address outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where tensions peaked in June 2020 after clashes in Galwan Valley. The two sides have since held multiple rounds of talks to restore stability.

In a post on August 9, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said Beijing “welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit,” calling it a “gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results” that would advance the organisation’s goals.

The diplomatic outreach coincides with efforts to restore economic connectivity. Both countries are preparing to resume direct passenger flights -- suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic -- as early as next month. 

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, and the report was cited by Hindustan Times, that Indian carriers, including IndiGo, have been asked to prepare for services to Chinese cities, with an official announcement expected around the SCO summit. 

Before the suspension, airlines from both sides operated more than a dozen weekly direct connections between major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Direct flights were halted in early 2020, and relations deteriorated further after the border clashes. New Delhi banned a number of Chinese mobile applications and tightened scrutiny on investment, moves Beijing criticised as “discriminatory.” 

Ties began to thaw in recent months, with India resuming tourist visas for Chinese nationals  and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The two governments had first agreed in principle to resume direct flights during a January 2025 meeting between Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wang Yi.

Indian Prime Minister Modi’s planned trip to China will be his first in seven years. 

The SCO summit, scheduled for August 31–September 1, is expected to include discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China’s foreign ministry has said it hopes the meeting will mark a “new stage of high-quality development” for the SCO, underpinned by “greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness.”

The renewed bilateral momentum is also taking place as both countries contend with rising trade pressure from Washington. US President Donald Trump recently doubled tariffs on Indian goods from 25% to 50% over New Delhi’s oil imports from Russia, while continuing a trade standoff with China. 

Beijing has voiced support for India in resisting US pressure, with Ambassador Xu warning against yielding to “bully” tactics.

If announced, the flight resumption and top-level engagements would mark the most significant step towards normalisation since the 2020 border crisis, while leaving core security and territorial issues still under negotiation.