Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu will be visiting India this week. China has officially announced his visit to India on Tuesday.
In its statement, China said that its Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will be visiting India this week (on Thursday) to attend the SCO Defense Ministers’ meeting from April 27.
China has also said that during this time he can also hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.
Significantly, this visit of the Chinese Defence Minister is taking place at a time when the 18th round of Corps Commander level talks between the two countries have recently taken place regarding the tension on LAC in East Ladakh.
In this regard, the visit of General Li, who is close to Chinese President Xi Jinping, is considered very important.
This is the Chinese Defence Minister’s first visit to India since the tense standoff between the armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh in 2020.
China’s Defence Ministry said in its statement regarding Li’s visit to India that on the invitation of India, Chinese State Councilor and Defence Minister General Li Shangfu will be in New Delhi on April 27-28. Here he will participate in the Defence Minister level meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). During this meeting General Lee will address the conference. Along with this, he will also communicate with the heads of delegations of the respective countries on the international and regional situation as well as on issues of defense and security cooperation.
Meanwhile, Gen Lee is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discuss the progress of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the escalating standoff.
After the meeting of Defence Ministers, there will be a meeting of Foreign Ministers of SCO members in Goa on May 4 and 5.
Let us tell you that India is also presiding over the SCO along with the G-20 this year. Foreign ministers of all SCO member countries including Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto are going to attend the meeting.
Pakistan has already confirmed Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting.
The SCO Defence Ministerial meeting is expected to discuss various issues related to regional security including the threat of terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan.
The meeting will be chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. SCO member states include India, Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
