China welcomes PM Modi for SCO summit, hails it as a "gathering of friendship"

China has officially extended a welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his upcoming visit to the country for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The visit, scheduled for August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, will mark PM Modi's first trip to China since 2018 and the first since the border clashes in Ladakh in 2020. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed confidence that the summit would be a "gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results," signaling a desire for warmer ties.

The visit comes amidst ongoing efforts by both New Delhi and Beijing to stabilize their strained relationship. While the two leaders last met briefly on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024, the SCO summit provides a significant opportunity for a possible bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Such a meeting would be their first structured engagement since 2019 and could pave the way for discussions on key issues, including de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the resumption of direct flights and people-to-people exchanges.

Bilateral ties between India and China have been on a difficult trajectory since the bloody clashes in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. However, a recent understanding to end the border standoff, followed by the meeting in Kazan, has set the stage for a potential reset. PM Modi's participation in the SCO summit is expected to not only reinforce India's commitment to the regional grouping but also to provide a platform to build on the diplomatic momentum for normalizing relations with its neighbor.