Beijing, August 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday landed in Tianjin, China, marking his first visit to the country in over seven years to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit scheduled for August 31–September 1.
The visit, closely watched amid strained global trade ties, comes as Modi is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday. The two leaders are expected to review the state of India-China economic relations and discuss measures to further normalise ties following years of tension over the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
Modi’s visit follows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent trip to India, during which both sides agreed to advance cooperation through border peace maintenance, resumption of trade, and re-establishment of direct flights. The Prime Minister stressed ahead of his arrival that stable and amicable relations between India and China would be crucial in addressing volatility in the global economy.
Besides Xi, Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. His last visit to China was in June 2018 for the SCO meet, while President Xi last came to India in October 2019 for the second informal summit.
