Sushma Swaraj will visit China on Saturday to participate in the Foreign Ministers meeting. (File photo)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit China on Saturday to participate in the Foreign Ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), scheduled for April 24.
Ms Swaraj is expected to hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during her visit to the country, news agency PTI reported.
Wang, who was elevated last month to be the State Councillor, is the top diplomat in the Chinese hierarchy. He will hold the dual posts of the State Councillor and Foreign Minister.
Ms Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are visiting China virtually around the same time. Ms Sitharaman will be in the country to take part in the SCO Defence Ministers meeting on April 24. Foreign and Defence Ministers of Pakistan are also expected to attend the meeting.
The SCO meetings are a prelude to the June summit of the eight-member grouping comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan were formally inducted as the newest members of the group in June 2017.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to China to take part in the SCO summit to be held in the Chinese city of Qingdao in June .
Visits by Ms Swaraj and Ms Sitharaman are taking place as India and China have stepped up high-level exchanges to defuse tensions following last year's Doklam standoff.
(with inputs from PTI)