Tianjin, August 30, 2025 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in China on Saturday for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), marking his first visit to the country in seven years. The two-day summit in Tianjin is set to begin on Sunday, with high-stakes diplomatic meetings on the agenda, including a much-anticipated bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The visit comes at a sensitive time in global geopolitics, with US President Donald Trump’s sweeping 50% tariffs on Indian exports—coupled with a 25% “penalty” for New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil—reshaping India’s strategic outlook. Analysts note that these moves have nudged India closer to Beijing and Moscow, both of which face their own challenges with Washington.

Renewed Focus on India-China Relations

This meeting between Modi and Xi is seen as pivotal in maintaining the momentum in India-China ties, which have improved gradually since the nadir of the Galwan Valley clash in 2020 and the prolonged military standoff in Eastern Ladakh. “Stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, the two largest nations on Earth, can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” Modi said in an interview ahead of his visit.

The Prime Minister emphasized that cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing would also bolster the vision of a multipolar Asia. Since their last meeting at the SCO summit in Kazan, Russia, in 2024, India and China have made “steady and positive progress,” he added.

Recent diplomatic engagements reflect this thaw. Earlier in August, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited New Delhi, where the two sides agreed to establish an expert group to work toward a boundary settlement. They also committed to resuming direct flight connectivity and easing visa procedures—seen as confidence-building measures after years of strained exchanges.

Talks with Putin Also on the Agenda

Besides Xi, Modi is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. The discussions are expected to cover the impact of US tariffs, Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. With both Moscow and New Delhi under pressure from Washington’s trade and security policies, closer cooperation is seen as a natural course of action.

Experts in Washington and elsewhere have warned that Trump’s tariffs risk undoing years of progress in US-India relations, particularly in defense, technology, and trade. “The American brand has suffered, and India is recalibrating,” one analyst noted, highlighting New Delhi’s careful balancing act of keeping its national interest at the center while avoiding alignment with any one power bloc.

Strategic Significance of the Visit

For India, the SCO summit provides not just a multilateral platform but also an opportunity to reinforce bilateral relationships at a time of shifting global equations. Modi’s return to China after seven years is being closely watched as a signal of how New Delhi intends to navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.

As the summit opens on Sunday, all eyes will be on Modi’s meeting with Xi - a conversation that could set the tone for the next phase of India-China engagement.