Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday in Tianjin during the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, marking their first interaction in ten months.
The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral ties and building on recent progress in India-China relations. It also came against the backdrop of tariff threats from the United States.
The last engagement between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in 2024.
A breakthrough in dialogue was achieved after both sides agreed on new patrolling protocols along the 3,500-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), effectively easing a four-year border confrontation.
Modi arrived in Tianjin on Saturday afternoon, where he was welcomed with a colourful reception at the Binhai International Airport.
“Landed in Tianjin, China. Looking forward to engaging in in-depth discussions during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and meeting with leaders from various countries,” the prime minister posted on X after his arrival.
Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India for the latest round of Special Representatives talks on the boundary issue. During his visit, Wang said Beijing attached “great importance” to Modi’s trip to China.
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Meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Wang remarked: “The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister’s visit to China to attend the SCO summit at our invitation. We believe that the Indian side will also make a contribution to a successful summit in Tianjin. History and reality prove once again that a healthy and stable China-India relationship serves the fundamental and long-term interests of both of our countries. It is also what developing countries all want to see.”
In an interview with Japan’s daily earlier this week, Modi underlined India’s readiness to advance ties with China on the basis of “mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity.”
He noted that since his meeting with Xi in Kazan last year, bilateral relations had seen “steady and positive progress.”
Asked about the significance of improving ties with Beijing, Modi said: “At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, I would be travelling to Tianjin from here to take part in the SCO Summit. Since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, steady and positive progress has been made in our bilateral ties.”
He added: “Stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbours and the two largest nations on earth, can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity. This is also crucial for a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world.”
Highlighting the global economic context, Modi stressed: “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.”
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