EAM’s opening remarks during meeting with Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi (July 14, 2025)

Excellency,

it is a pleasure to meet you during my visit here for the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting. I appreciate your warm welcome and hospitality.

2. Let me wish the Chinese side a successful SCO Presidency. We will be meeting tomorrow and India is committed to ensuring good outcomes and decisions.

3. 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.

4. In recent times, the two of us have had several opportunities to meet at international events and carry out strategic communication. It is our expectation that this will now be regular and take place in each other’s countries.

5. This year, we are marking the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. We appreciate that the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra has also resumed after a gap of five years. I thank the Chinese side for their cooperation on this matter.

6. Excellency, we have made good progress in the past nine months for the normalization of our bilateral relations. It is a result of the resolution of friction along the border and our ability to maintain peace and tranquility there. This is the fundamental basis for mutual strategic trust and for smooth development of bilateral relations. It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation.

7. As neighbouring nations and major economies in the world today, there are various facets and dimensions of our ties. Measures towards normalizing our people – to – people exchanges can certainly foster mutually beneficial cooperation. It is also essential in this context that restrictive trade measures and roadblocks are avoided. I hope to discuss these issues in further detail.

8. Stable and constructive ties between India and China are not only to our benefit, but that of the world as well. This is best done by handling relations on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity. We have also earlier agreed that differences should not become disputes, nor should competition ever become conflict. On this foundation, we can now continue to develop our ties along a positive trajectory.

9. Excellency, our meeting today will also include an exchange of views on global and regional issues. Tomorrow, we will be meeting in the format of the SCO, whose primary mandate is to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism. This is a shared concern and India hopes that zero tolerance for terrorism will be strongly upheld.

10. As Foreign Minister, you have been long responsible for our overall bilateral relations. I am happy to have this in-depth discussion on the state of our ties in an era of profound change. I look forward to a constructive and forward-looking exchange of views.

Beijing
July 14, 2025