Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in China on Saturday for the first time in over seven years, where he will be attending the crucial SCO summit and hold bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
PM Modi arrived in China’s Tianjin after concluding his trip to Japan, where he boosted bilateral relations across transport, space exploration and trade.
The prime minister, who is in China till September 1, will have a crucial meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as both leaders are expected to take stock of India-China economic ties and deliberate on steps to further normalise relations.
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PM Modi will also be attending the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which holds special significance amid the rising concerns over the 50% US tariffs on India which came into effect on Wednesday.
The prime minister is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders on the sidelines of the SCO summit. Kremlin earlier said that Putin will discuss preparations of his visit to India in December during meeting with PM Modi.
Ahead of his visit to China, PM Modi, in an interview with Japan’s The Yomiuri Shimbun, said that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.
PM Modi’s visit to China comes less than a fortnight after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India. The Indian prime minister visited China in June 2018 to attend the SCO summit. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second “informal summit”.
This is also PM Modi’s first visit to China following the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. In recent months, the two countries have taken multiple steps to normalise ties, including resumption of trade through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh, and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
