On June 24–25, 2025, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to travel to Qingdao, China, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers’ meeting. The fact that this is the first high-level Indian ministerial visit to China since the Eastern Ladakh border standoff and the Galwan conflict in 2020 suggests that efforts to restore and stabilize bilateral relations between the two nations are gaining new impetus.
Following the October 2024 agreement to resume coordinated patrolling and disengage troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, there has been a notable thaw in India-China relations, which coincides with the visit.
This deal, which was the outcome of continuous diplomatic efforts, including a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, put an end to a protracted military standoff.
Talks between Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, the defense minister, are anticipated to take place during his visit. The 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), the first meeting after the disengagement agreement, was held in November 2024 in Vientiane, Laos, and was their most recent meeting.
Defense ministers from the ten nations that make up the SCO—India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and several Central Asian countries—will attend the meeting, which is being hosted by China, which is currently serving as its chair. Counterterrorism, connectivity, and regional security cooperation will be the main topics of discussion.
Both sides are working on more comprehensive confidence-building initiatives to normalize relations in addition to military and security cooperation. The resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, the restoration of direct air connectivity, the sharing of hydrological data, the simplification of visa procedures, and the improvement of interpersonal and cultural exchanges are some of these initiatives. During recent discussions between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi, India also reaffirmed its support for China’s SCO presidency.
With an emphasis on people-centric engagements and concrete measures to return bilateral relations to normal, Rajnath Singh’s visit highlights a shared desire to further the understanding reached between the Chinese and Indian leadership in October 2024.
