After more than seven years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in China on Saturday evening for a closely watched visit, which has gained added importance in light of the recent dip in India-US relations triggered by Washington’s trade and tariff policies.
Modi’s visit to the northern Chinese city is primarily to participate in the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on August 31 and September 1.
His planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit has acquired greater importance in the wake of the current tariff standoff with the United States that has hit almost all the big global economies.
Modi and Xi will discuss India-China economic relations and consider steps to further normalize relations that had taken a severe hit in the aftermath of the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
"Landed in Tianjin, China. Looking forward to deliberations at the SCO Summit and meeting various world leaders," the prime minister tweeted shortly after his arrival in China, which was the second and last leg of his two-country tour that started with Japan.
Modi was warmly welcomed to his hotel, where he was greeted by performers who presented Indian classical dance and music.
He is also likely to have bilateral discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of other leaders at the SCO summit.
Before his visit, Modi stressed that India and China should act in concert to stabilise the world economic order. Speaking in an interview with Japan's The Yomiuri Shimbun, he stated, "With the current uncertainty prevailing in the world economy, it is also necessary that India and China as two large economies cooperate to restore stability to the world economic order." He further stated that healthy and stable and cordial bilateral relations between the two countries can have a beneficial impact on regional as well as global peace and prosperity.
"Given the current volatility in the world economy, it is also important for India and China, as two major economies, to work together to bring stability to the world economic order," Modi said in the interview published on Friday.
Modi’s visit follows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent trip to India, during which he held extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Both sides subsequently announced measures to foster a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking” relationship, including joint maintenance of peace along the contested frontier, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flight services at the earliest.
India and China have in the recent months made efforts to reboot relations severely strained by the fatal Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020. Modi had last visited China in June 2018 for the SCO summit, while President Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second "informal summit."
The eastern Ladakh standoff officially ended after the process of disengagement was complete at the last two points of friction, Demchok and Depsang, under a deal agreed on October 21 last year.
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