Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on August 31, 2025, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China. This meeting is significant as it marks PM Modi's first visit to China in seven years and the first since the Galwan Valley incident in June 2020, which had escalated tensions between the two nations.
The SCO Summit, established in 2001, serves as a platform for member states, including China, Russia, and India, to collaborate on various issues.
The meeting between Modi and Xi is expected to provide a fresh impetus to the improvement and development of relations between India and China. The backdrop of this meeting is crucial, as both leaders had previously met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in 2024. The breakthrough in bilateral talks was facilitated by an agreement on patrolling along the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC), effectively ending a four-year-long border confrontation.
China's Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, emphasized the importance of PM Modi's visit to Tianjin for the SCO Summit, stating, "The visit of Prime Minister Modi to China will be a very important event not only for the SCO but for the bilateral relationship between the two countries. A working group from China and India is working very hard to make this visit a successful one. From our side, we attach great importance to this visit. It will be a very successful one."
Diplomatic Engagements and Strategic Discussions
On August 19, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with PM Modi in New Delhi, delivering a message and invitation from President Xi Jinping for the two-day SCO Summit. PM Modi expressed his optimism about the upcoming meeting, stating, "Glad to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other's interests and sensitivities. I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit."
During their meeting, PM Modi reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility on the border and emphasized India's commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) issued a statement highlighting the positive progress in bilateral ties since the Kazan meeting, guided by mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity, including the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra.
The SCO Summit is not only a platform for India and China to discuss bilateral issues but also an opportunity for member states to collaborate on various fronts, including politics, trade, economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, and environmental protection. The combined population of the SCO member states, including the two most populous countries, India and China, accounts for around 35% of the world's population, making the summit a significant event on the global stage.
Experts believe that President Xi Jinping aims to use the SCO Summit as an opportunity to showcase a new world order without the influence of America and Europe. While Russia and other Asian countries are already part of this framework, India is seen as a crucial link in this new world order. The second term of Donald Trump, with its "America First" policies, has prompted New Delhi to recalibrate its foreign policy, especially in light of the US's announcement to impose 50% tariffs on India.
The SCO Summit in Tianjin will include a welcome banquet dinner on the evening of August 31, with the main summit scheduled for September 1. Other notable Indian achievements during the presidency include the adoption of a joint statement on cooperation, countering radicalization leading to separatism, extremism, and terrorism. Additionally, areas such as startups and innovation, traditional medicine, youth empowerment, digital inclusion, and shared Buddhist heritage have been highlighted.
The meeting between PM Modi and President Xi is expected to address several key issues, including the construction of a mega dam by China in Tibet on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which has raised concerns in India as a lower riparian state. The issue was discussed during the Chinese foreign minister's visit to New Delhi, with China attempting to address India's misgivings.
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