Tianjin, Aug. 29 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet twice on Sunday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, in what officials describe as an effort to strengthen ties at a time of global trade upheaval.
According to sources, Modi will arrive in Tianjin on Saturday evening after wrapping up his visit to Japan. His first bilateral with Xi is scheduled around noon Sunday, with a possible second engagement before the official SCO banquet later in the day.
The summit of the 10-member bloc comes as both India and China face economic pressures following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50 percent tariffs on Indian exports. Analysts say Modi’s meetings with Xi will be closely watched not only in New Delhi and Beijing but also internationally, as the two Asian powers recalibrate their relationship amid strained ties with Washington.
On Monday, Modi will attend the main SCO proceedings and is also likely to hold a bilateral with Russian President Vladimir Putin before returning to India.
This will be Modi’s first visit to China in seven years. “The outcome of his meeting with Xi is expected to set the tone for the next phase of India-China relations,” a diplomatic source said, calling the encounter “the most significant” of the summit.
Modi and Xi share a history of frequent interactions, from formal summits to informal retreats, which allowed them to build personal rapport before relations soured over the Ladakh standoff. Their last meeting, at Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, marked the thaw after a four-year freeze triggered by military tensions in eastern Ladakh.
Since then, the two sides have stepped up contacts across multiple sectors, and observers believe the Tianjin talks could open the way for a “reset.” As one analyst put it, “Both leaders are under pressure from Trump’s trade war. That may give them the strongest incentive yet to work together.”
