PM Modi in China after 7 years: SCO Summit, talks with Xi Jinping and Putin | What’s on agenda?

In his departure statement ahead of his two-nation visits, Prime Minister Modi said that he is “looking forward” to meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping (Image: ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday landed in China, marking his first visit to the country after a gap of seven years. The visit comes at a crucial time as both nations look to strengthen ties amid global trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump’s policies on tariff.

In China, Prime Minister Modi will attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on August 31 and September 1.

However, PM Modi’s scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday has gained added importance amid Washington’s escalating tariff war that has rattled major economies worldwide.

The two leaders are likely to review India-China economic relations and explore ways to stabilise ties strained by the eastern Ladakh border dispute.

In his departure statement ahead of his two-nation visits, Prime Minister Modi said that he is “looking forward” to meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also said that India is an active and constructive member of SCO. “During our Presidency, we have introduced new ideas and initiated collaboration in the fields of innovation, health and cultural exchanges,” the statement read.

The Prime Minister arrived in China from Japan in the second and final leg of his two-nation tour.

“I am confident that my visits to Japan and China would further our national interests and priorities, and contribute to building fruitful cooperation in advancing regional and global peace, security, and sustainable development,” PM Modi’s departure statement read.

Apart from the Chinese President, PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of other leaders on the margins of the summit.

Ahead of his trip to Tianjin, Modi said it is important for India and China to work together to bring stability to the world economic order.

In an interview with Japan's The Yomiuri Shimbun, Modi said a stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.

"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," Modi said in the interview published on Friday.

Modi's trip to China comes less than a fortnight after Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited India.

In the last few months, both countries have initiated a series of measures to reset their ties that came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.

The prime minister last visited China in June, 2018, to attend the SCO summit. Chinese President Xi visited India in October 2019 for the second "informal summit".

The eastern Ladakh face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.