As their countries move to repair ties after a five-year military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping around noon local time Sunday, before the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin, 120 km away from Beijing.
The meeting of the two leaders within 10 months — Modi and Xi last met in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit — is a signal that the two sides are going to give a special thrust to bilateral ties, and Delhi will be keen to push for a “step-by-step” stabilisation of the relationship.
A time slot of about 40 minutes has been scheduled for the talks. A senior Chinese diplomat told The Indian Express that he was “hopeful of a fruitful meeting”.
The two leaders are expected to give their stamp of approval on a calendar of activities to be organised to mark the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations — last-minute diplomatic talks were underway Saturday.
The Prime Minister flew into Tianjin from Japan — this is his first to China in seven years — for the SCO summit from August 31 to September 1.
“Landed in Tianjin, China. Looking forward to deliberations at the SCO Summit and meeting various world leaders,” Modi said in a post on X, also indicating the focus was the multilateral summit.
Indian officials have been cautious about the meeting with Xi being framed as a major bilateral meeting. For Delhi, this is a visit for a multilateral summit and a bilateral with the host leader is not unusual.
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But the global situation, especially the strain in ties between Delhi and Washington following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 50 per cent tariffs on India, and his administration’s daily diatribe over India’s import of Russian oil, has complicated the situation for Delhi.
It is against this backdrop that Delhi has come to Tianjin and hopes that the exercise to repair India-China ties is carried forward.
Ahead of the meeting of the two leaders, the Chinese military said China and India should jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in their border areas after the recent “positive” and “constructive” round of border talks between them during which a 10-point consensus was reached.
The Special Representatives, NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held the 24th Round of Talks on the India-China Boundary Question on August 19 in Delhi.
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During the talks, a 10-point consensus was reached, and the two sides agreed to utilise the border management and control mechanisms through diplomatic and military channels, China’s Defence Spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said, commenting for the first time on the outcome of the dialogue.
During the talks, the two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the China-India boundary question in a positive and constructive spirit, reaching multiple consensuses, Zhang said.
As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, the two sides should consolidate the positive momentum in bilateral relations, and explore the right way for the two major countries and neighbours to get along with each other in the spirit of mutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, common development and win-win cooperation, Zhang said.
Delhi views the Chinese military’s statements as a positive signal.
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The Doval-Wang talks produced five concrete outcomes that included setting up an expert group under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) to explore an “early harvest in boundary delimitation”.
Sources said that the border-related mechanisms are expected to be reiterated at the meeting, and some more concessions on bilateral trade and investments are being discussed between the two sides.
The Modi-Xi meeting in Kazan in October 2024 resulted in disengagement of troops from two key friction points in eastern Ladakh, followed by talks leading to the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Indian visas for Chinese tourists and steps for revival of direct flights between the two countries.
These efforts to repair ties did take a hit in May when India came across evidence of active Chinese assistance to the Pakistan military during the hostilities that followed Operation Sindoor. On August 19, Wang Yi met Modi in Delhi and handed him an invitation from Xi to attend the SCO.
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The difficult issue of de-escalation in eastern Ladakh still remains and the two sides have agreed to move forward on that as well. An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 troops are stationed on either side of the LAC in the region. Sources said the leaders are expected to discuss the border situation and ways to end the standoff.
