PM Narendra Modi, Prez Xi Jinping likely to meet twice on SCO summit sidelines in China: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tianjin, China, on 30 August for his first visit in seven years. Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit during the China trip.

PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold two bilateral meetings today, 31 August, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin. Both nations are looking to strengthen ties amid global trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a bilateral meeting with President Xi around noon today and a possible second one before the official banquet of the SCO summit, according to sources, news agency PTI said, quoting sources.

On Monday, September 1, the Prime Minister will attend the SCO Summit and is likely to have a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before leaving for home.

The summit of the 10-member bloc is regarded as significant and most consequential from the point of view of India-China relations in the current context of a sudden downturn in India-US ties after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports.

Modi-Xi Meeting

Though Narendra Modi is expected to have bilateral meetings with several leaders, his meeting with Xi will be the most watched one, not simply in India and China but all around the world.

The outcome of the meeting is expected to set the tone for the future course of bilateral relations, which, experts say, looks bright as the two countries faced the brunt of Trump's tariffs.

Xi and Modi met last year at Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which ended over a four-year deadlock or freeze in the bilateral ties over the military tensions in Eastern Ladakh.

Before the Ladakh tensions of 2020, Modi and Xi met numerous times in bilateral and multilateral summits, including informal summits. Since the Kazan meeting, the two sides have stepped up wide-ranging interactions.

The Modi-Xi meeting acquires significance and raises expectations that it may provide a broader roadmap for enhanced ties. Pakistan, a member of the SCO, will also be present at Tianjin, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the summit.

Modi’s meeting with Putin was expected to draw global attention as Trump singled out India for a tariff hike for buying Russian oil and gas.

On the Modi-Xi meeting, Chinese strategic analysts say the Prime Minister’s attendance at the SCO meeting is important for their bilateral relations and for the summit itself.

“They used to have very friendly and sincere meetings for the last 10 years. China hopes that Modi’s coming will encourage the concerted effort of all parties to make the summit of the SCO successful and fruitful," Zhou Rong, Professor of strategic studies at China’s Renmin University, told PTI.

Although China and India have started making joint efforts to repair their ties, it makes sense that China would be pragmatic and prudent in handling the relations with India, Prof Rong said , adding that “we need a good neighbourly relation with India and we need to revitalise the two great civilisations”.

(With PTI inputs)