Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend SCO summit in Astana

Chinese President Xi Jinping. File | Photo credit: Getty Images

The situation in Afghanistan, the conflict in Ukraine and the strengthening of comprehensive security cooperation between SCO member countries are expected to be on the summit's agenda.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on June 30. He will also pay a state visit to Tajikistan, he added.

From July 2 to 6, President Xi will attend the 24th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Astana, the ministry said.

Officials say the situation in Afghanistan, the conflict in Ukraine and strengthening overall security cooperation among SCO member countries should be on the summit's agenda.

The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is an influential economic and security bloc that has become one of the largest transregional international organizations.

S. Jaishankar and Wang Yi likely to meet

India will be represented by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said earlier.

Officials say there is a likelihood of a meeting on the sidelines of the summit between Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is expected to accompany Mr Xi.

If it takes place, it will be the first high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials since the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government 3.0 following India's recent general elections.

Typically, the Indian Prime Minister attends the SCO summit, providing an opportunity for Indian and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the meeting of the heads of state of the eight-member bloc.

But with Mr Modi choosing to ignore it, importance is being attached to the likely meeting between Mr Jaishankar and Mr Wang in light of the four-year-old frozen relations between the two countries due to the standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Frosty relations between India and China

Relations between the two countries have hit their lowest point, except for trade, since the standoff on the eastern Ladakh border erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso (lake) area near Galwan.

Since the May 2020 clashes, the two sides have held 21 rounds of corps commander-level talks so far to resolve the standoff. The 22nd meeting is to take place.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides have so far agreed to disengage from four points, namely Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, hot springs and Jianan Daban (Gogra) in eastern Ladakh.

India is pressuring the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to withdraw from Depsang and Demchok regions, saying there can be no return to normalcy in its relations with China as long as the border situation remains abnormal.

For its part, China continues to maintain that the border issue does not represent the entirety of Sino-Indian relations and should be placed appropriately in bilateral relations and managed properly.

Kazakhstan is hosting the summit in its capacity as the group's current chair.

India held the SCO chairmanship last year. It hosted the SCO summit in a virtual format last July.

India has shown keen interest in deepening its security cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with security and defense issues.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan became a permanent member along with India in 2017.