Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, marking his first trip to the country since the 2020 Galwan clash and the latest in a series of diplomatic maneuvers amid India’s escalating trade tensions with the United States.
The summit, scheduled for August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, will be hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and is expected to bring together key leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. While an official announcement is still awaited, sources confirmed that preparations are underway for India’s participation, and a bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi is likely on the sidelines.
If confirmed, this would be Modi’s first visit to China since June 2018, when he last attended the SCO summit. The Prime Minister is also expected to travel to Tokyo around the same time for the annual India-Japan summit.
As part of the preparations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to visit India to finalize the agenda for the possible Modi-Xi bilateral. Wang may also take part in the Special Representative-level talks with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to discuss the ongoing border dispute.
The potential visit comes at a sensitive time, as the U.S. under President Donald Trump recently imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods over India’s continued trade with Russia. The move has strained ties between Washington and New Delhi, making Modi’s engagement with China and Russia particularly significant in the current geopolitical context.
If the visit materializes, Modi is also expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin separately. Later this year, India is likely to host Putin for the annual India-Russia summit.
A bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi would be only their second formal interaction since Xi’s visit to India in 2019 for the informal summit in Mamallapuram. The two leaders also briefly met during the BRICS summit in Kazan in October last year, where both sides agreed to avoid allowing their differences—especially on border issues—to escalate into disputes.
Since that meeting, there have been a series of high-level exchanges between India and China, including visits by NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The talks have touched on multiple issues, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims and easing visa restrictions for Chinese tourists.
India sees the SCO as an important platform to maintain strategic autonomy and strengthen ties with Central Asia, particularly in the context of regional security concerns in Afghanistan. While New Delhi’s alignment with the SCO has been cautious, it continues to engage the bloc as part of its broader diplomatic balancing act between East and West.
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