SCO Summit Highlights: Modi Meets Xi, All Eyes On India-China Relations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tianjin, China, on Saturday evening, marking his first visit to the country in more than seven years. The trip comes as India navigates strained trade relations with the United States, following the imposition of steep tariffs.

According to th Hindu, Modi is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled for 31 August to 1 September. However, the highlight of his visit is a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expected to set the tone for India–China relations after years of friction.

The summit follows Washington’s decision to implement 50 per cent tariffs, including an additional 25 per cent on India for importing Russian oil. Against this backdrop, Mr Modi’s discussions with President Xi are expected to focus on economic cooperation, regional stability, and normalisation of bilateral ties.

According to PTI Twenty foreign leaders are attending the SCO Plus summit being organised by China, which is this year's rotating chair of the 10-member bloc comprising Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan. Leaders who arrived here included Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. The leaders’ summit will be held on Monday.

This summit, the largest so far by the SCO, will be one of the most important head-of-state and home-ground diplomacy events in China this year, China's Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin had said earlier.

In his keynote speech at the summit, Xi will elaborate on China's new vision and propositions for the SCO in carrying forward the "Shanghai Spirit", shouldering the mission of the times and responding to people's expectations, he said.

Most of the leaders are expected to stay beyond the two-day summit to witness China's largest military parade to be held in Beijing on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. 

Shortly after his arrival from Japan, Modi posted on X: “Landed in Tianjin, China. Looking forward to deliberations at the SCO Summit and meeting various world leaders.”

Upon reaching his hotel, he was welcomed with performances of Indian classical music and dance. Alongside talks with President Xi, Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other global leaders attending the summit.

According to PTI, in a recent interview with Japan’s The Yomiuri Shimbun, the Prime Minister stressed that stable ties between India and China could positively influence regional and global peace. “Given the current volatility in the world economy, it is also important for India and China, as two major economies, to work together to bring stability to the world economic order,” he said.

Modi’s visit comes after recent diplomatic outreach, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip to New Delhi. Both nations agreed on measures to maintain peace at contested frontiers, restore border trade, and resume direct flights.

The Prime Minister last visited China in June 2018 for a previous SCO gathering, while President Xi was last in India in October 2019.