Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping To Meet On 31 August During PM's First China Visit In 7 Years

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during his China visit later this week, reports said on 28 August.

Narendra Modi will be in China between 31 August and 1 September for the SCO summit in Tianjin. According to reports, the Modi-Xi meeting is likely to be scheduled for 31 August.

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President Xi Jinping will gather more than 20 world leaders at a SCO meet in what many call a powerful show of Global South solidarity at a time when Donald Trump is imposing tariffs on other countries.

This will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's first visit to China in more than seven years. The two neighbours are working on further defusing tensions roiled by deadly border clashes in 2020 in Galwan.

Modi and XI last shared the same stage at last year's BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to China in more than seven years.

In July, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Xi Jinping in China, in his first visit to the country since ties between the two nations nosedived in 2020.

The 2020 Galwan Valley standoff between India and China was the worst border clash in over 40 years, resulting in the death of soldiers on both sides. The incident sharply escalated tensions and brought bilateral ties to a historic low.

After the meeting, Jaishankar said he had communicated greetings from President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi to Jinping.“Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties. Value the guidance of our leaders in that regard,” a part of Jaishankar's tweet had said.

Jaishankar's visit on 15 July followed those of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who travelled to China in June for the SCO meetings.

On 19 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to New Delhi.“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,” Modi wrote in a post on X.

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PM Narendra Modi would leave for Tokyo from New Delhi around midnight on Thursday and arrive in Japan on 29 and 30 August for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba .

On 30 August, Modi will fly from Japan to the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the summit of the regional security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation .

Russian President Vladimir Putin , leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia have been invited to SCO summit, to be held in the northern port city of Tianjin from 31 August to 1 September.

Indian foreign ministry official Tanmaya Lal told reporters that India's priorities at the SCO 2025 include trade, connectivity, respect for sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The recent detente between India and China after over five years of heightened border tensions and renewed tariff pressure on New Delhi from the United States is driving hopes for a positive meeting between Xi and Modi on the sidelines of the summit.

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"It's likely (New Delhi) will swallow their pride and put this year's SCO problems behind them in a bid to maintain momentum in the détente with China, which is a key Modi priority right now," said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of research agency The China-Global South Project , according to a report in Reuters.

(With Reuters inputs)

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