Tianjin: Seven years after his last visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in China on Saturday to attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, set to commence on Sunday. The visit marks a significant moment in India-China relations, coming amid the backdrop of US-imposed tariffs on India and growing complexities in global trade and geopolitics.
The highlight of Modi’s trip will be a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first in-person discussion between the two leaders since the SCO summit in Kazan, Russia, last year. The meeting is expected to focus on consolidating the remarkable progress in bilateral ties since the tensions following the Galwan clash in 2020 and the prolonged military standoff in Eastern Ladakh. Prime Minister Modi emphasized that stable and amicable relations between India and China the two most populous nations in the world are critical not only for regional peace but also for global prosperity.
“The SCO summit provides an opportunity to reinforce our ties, and since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, steady and positive progress has been made in our bilateral relations,” PM Modi said. He added that India-China cooperation would contribute to a multi-polar Asia and a more stable international order. In a major step forward, the two nations agreed to resume direct flight connectivity, facilitate visa procedures, and set up an expert group to explore an early settlement of the boundary question, following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi earlier this month.
On the sidelines of the SCO summit, Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks are expected to cover the impact of US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods, including a 25% surcharge linked to Russian oil imports, as well as Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the evolving situation in Gaza. Analysts suggest that the punitive tariffs have pushed India closer to both Moscow and Beijing, reinforcing New Delhi’s strategy of safeguarding national interests while maintaining a non-aligned, multi-vector foreign policy.
Experts in Washington and elsewhere have noted that the tariffs risk undermining deeper India-US cooperation in trade, technology, and defense. For New Delhi, strengthening partnerships with China and Russia provides both economic diversification and strategic leverage, allowing India to chart a course that prioritizes national interest and regional stability.
As PM Modi engages with key global leaders in Tianjin, all eyes will be on the outcomes of his meetings, particularly the Modi-Xi summit, which could signal a further thaw in India-China ties and underscore India’s commitment to balanced diplomacy amid shifting global alliances. The SCO summit, therefore, emerges as more than a multilateral gathering it is a crucible for strategic realignments in a world increasingly shaped by trade wars, regional tensions, and the pursuit of multipolarity.