PM Modi may visit China for SCO summit next month — first visit since 2019: Report

Mint

2 days ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit next month, a report in the Economic Times said on July 16.
This could be PM Modi's first visit to China after the two neighbouring countries' ties came under severe strain following the 2020 military standoff in Galwan along theLine of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The visit will come in the wake of efforts by India and China to improve bilateral ties.
A possible meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is especially anticipated during the summit. The two leaders met last during the BRICS summit in Russia in October 2024.
There is no official word on the visit yet.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and related events next month.
The SCO Tianjin Summit will be held from August 31-September 1, Wang said during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev here, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the SCO member states are expected to attend the summit.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese president Xi Jinping on Tuesday as part of a delegation of foreign ministers attending the meeting of the SCO. Jaishankar's visit to China is expected to lay the groundwork for PM Modi's anticipated visit to Beijing for the SCO Leaders' Summit.
"Apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties," Jaishankar said in a post on X, accompanied by a picture of him shaking hands with Xi.
Jaishankar arrived in China after concluding his visit to Singapore, his first trip to China in five years.
On Monday, Jaishankar met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. The two leaders spoke about the need for a far-seeing approach to bilateral ties. Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the neighbours have made 'good progress' over the last nine months in normalising relations, adding that it was key to avoid restrictive trade measures and roadblocks.
Jaishankar said India and China should now consider de-escalating the situation along the LAC after making 'good progress' in normalising the bilateral ties in the past nine months, news agency PTI reported.
Jaishankar also met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing on July 14.
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.
The decision to revive the SR dialogue and other dormant channels was reportedly taken during a brief exchange between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in Kazan, Russia, in October last year. There have been a few glimmers of positive movement, most notably the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra after nearly five years.
PM Modi is also expected to be Japan in August-end where he will meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
PM Modi's visit to Japan would be his first since May 2023, when he attended the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, western Japan.