Tianjin, Aug 30 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in China on Saturday for his first visit in more than seven years, with his scheduled talks with President Xi Jinping on Sunday drawing global attention amid efforts by both nations to stabilise ties and growing unease over India’s strained relations with Washington.
Modi is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on August 31 and September 1. However, his bilateral meeting with Xi has taken on added importance as India and China seek to repair relations that were badly fractured following the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. The dialogue also comes at a time when U.S. tariff policies have created fresh turbulence in the global economy.
The Prime Minister arrived in Tianjin from Japan, completing the second leg of a two-nation tour. He is also expected to hold discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other leaders on the margins of the SCO summit.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Modi underlined the need for cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing. “Given the current volatility in 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,” he told Japan’s The Yomiuri Shimbun in an interview published Friday. He added that stable and predictable ties between India and China would have a “positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.”
Modi’s trip follows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India earlier this month, during which he held wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Both sides then announced a series of steps aimed at building a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking” relationship. These measures included maintaining peace along the contested frontier, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flight services.
The Prime Minister last visited China in June 2018 for the SCO summit, while Xi travelled to India in October 2019 for the second informal summit with Modi. Relations plunged soon after the outbreak of the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, which only began to stabilise after disengagement from the final friction points at Demchok and Depsang was completed under an agreement reached in October last year.
Analysts say Sunday’s meeting will provide the clearest signal yet of whether New Delhi and Beijing can overcome lingering mistrust. For Modi, it also comes against the backdrop of a sudden downturn in India-U.S. ties, triggered by Washington’s tariff moves that have rattled economies across Asia.
