PM Modi to Meet Xi Jinping During Upcoming SCO Summit in China

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week during his upcoming visit to China, marking his first trip to the country in more than seven years.

Mr. Modi will travel to Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The visit comes at a critical juncture, as New Delhi and Beijing continue efforts to manage tensions lingering since the violent border clashes of 2020.

The anticipated engagement between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi also carries wider geopolitical significance. It coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose tariffs on India over Russian crude imports, underscoring the complex strategic environment surrounding the summit.

According to a Reuters report citing senior foreign ministry official Tanmaya Lal, India’s priorities at the SCO forum will include advancing trade and connectivity, while strongly affirming the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Mr. Modi last shared the stage with Mr. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia—an event notable for the absence of most Western leaders due to Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Tianjin summit is expected to showcase China’s ambition to project the SCO as a platform for Global South unity, while also providing sanctions-hit Russia with another avenue for diplomatic outreach. President Xi will host over 20 world leaders at what the Chinese foreign ministry has described as the largest SCO gathering since its inception in 2001.

Originally founded as a six-member Eurasian security bloc, the SCO has since expanded to 10 permanent members, with an additional 16 nations holding dialogue partner or observer status. Its agenda, once focused primarily on counter-terrorism and regional security, has broadened to encompass economic cooperation, strategic dialogue, and military coordination.