Jaishankar meets China President Xi ahead of SCO meet, says ‘conveyed’ PM Modi’s message

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tianjin.

Jaishankar said he conveyed message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu during the meeting, underscoring India’s commitment to improving relations while resolving border tensions. Jaishankar also praised Xi for the recent developments in improving the ties between the two nations.

“Called on President Xi Jinping this morning in Beijing along with my fellow SCO Foreign Ministers. Conveyed the greetings of President Droupadi Murmu & Prime Minister @narendramodi. Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties . Value the guidance of our leaders in that regard (sic),” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Jaishankar is visiting China for two days to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Jaishankar told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday that while India and China have made ‘good progress’ over the past nine months towards improving relations and further efforts are needed to ease tensions along the border.

Signalling an improvement in ties after setbacks due to military clashes in Ladakh, Jaishankar emphasised that “differences should not become disputes” and that “competition should never become conflict.”

This marks Jaishankar’s first visit to China since the military standoff began along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.

During his meeting with Wang Yi ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Tianjin on Tuesday, Jaishankar highlighted terrorism as a shared concern, saying India hopes the principle of “zero tolerance for terrorism” will be firmly upheld at the summit. He also stressed that “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” should be avoided to ensure smoother economic ties.

“Our bilateral relationship requires that we take a far-seeing approach to our ties. Since our leaders’ meeting in Kazan in October 2024, the India-China relationship has been gradually moving in a positive direction. Our responsibility is to maintain that momentum,” Jaishankar said.