Chinese Communist Party Leaders Visit BJP Office As China Pushes Shaksgam Claims; First Meet Since Galwan Clash

New Delhi: A high-level delegation from the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), visited the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, triggering a fresh political controversy amid escalating territorial tensions with Beijing.

The BJP delegation was headed by general secretary Arun Singh and discussions focused on enhancing inter-party communications and bilateral dialogue between the two parties. Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong also participated in the talks, which the BJP described as part of routine engagements to promote “political understanding”.

However, the Congress saw the encounter in a sharply different light.

A political storm erupted after reports emerged of Chinese construction activity in the Shaksgam Valley of Jammu and Kashmir even as political engagement unfolded in the national capital.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate launched a pointed attack on the BJP on Tuesday, accusing the ruling party of sending “mixed signals” to Beijing at a time when China is “asserting territorial claims” on Indian territory. She raised concerns about national security, questioning why senior BJP leaders were engaging closely with a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party amid such developments.

“China has claimed the Shaksgam Valley of Jammu and Kashmir as its own territory. For the past several days, construction is going on there in the name of CPEC. After Ladakh, how has China managed to intrude all the way here now?” Shrinate wrote on X. She added, “How is China showing such audacity? And meanwhile, BJP leaders are holding meetings with China’s Communist Party.”

The Shaksgam Valley dispute has become a flashpoint in India-China relations. China has reaffirmed its territorial claims over the Valley in response to India’s objections and has defended ongoing infrastructure projects there as “fully justified” and “beyond reproach”, citing a boundary agreement with Pakistan from the 1960s, a pact that India has consistently rejected as illegal and invalid.

The Ministry of External Affairs has reiterated that the Shaksgam Valley is an integral and inalienable part of Indian territory and has protested against infrastructure work undertaken by China and infrastructure projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that traverse the region.

The Congress has seized on the issue to amplify criticism of the BJP, with party leaders invoking past conflicts such as the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes and alleging that China continues to encroach on Indian territory.

Congress Seva Dal activists released images and statements, asserting that while Chinese territorial ambitions persist, the BJP appears to be moving forward with close political cooperation with the CPC.

“This photograph is from the BJP office. BJP leaders are holding a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party. Our brave soldiers were martyred in Galwan, China’s encroachment continues in Ladakh and yet the BJP is engaging in close cooperation with them,” the statement said.

In response, the BJP has defended the meeting as a party-to-party dialogue separate from government-to-government foreign policy, emphasising its focus on communication rather than strategic negotiations. The party has so far not addressed the criticism over timing in direct terms.

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