PM Modi Heads to China for SCO Summit- First Outing After Galwan Faceoff Marks Diplomatic Thaw
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Tianjin, China, on August 31-September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, his first visit to China after the 2020 Galwan Valley skirmish. His last visit was in 2019, though he did have a brief interaction with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024.
The timing of this visit is significant, coming amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a shifting global order. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has recently ramped up economic pressure on India through steep tariff hikes and criticism of New Delhi’s continued energy ties with Russia. Observers interpret Modi’s China visit as part of India’s broader effort to recalibrate its foreign policy and maintain strategic autonomy in a rapidly polarising world.
The summit is happening against a sensitive diplomatic backdrop — China's alignment with Pakistan, and the residual effect of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 26 people, still weighs on regional dynamics. In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also skipped signing a joint SCO statement that left out the Pahalgam attack but mentioned Balochistan, an omission widely perceived as reflecting Pakistan's position.
But in July, the balance was tilted somewhat when Beijing criticized the Pahalgam attack — a departure from the past's rhetoric. The statement followed just after the United States labeled The Resistance Front, which is suspected to be a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy, as a foreign terrorist organization.
At the next SCO gathering, the 10-member countries' leaders — India, China, Russia, Iran, and Pakistan included — are set to address a variety of key issues like counterterrorism, regional security, economic collaboration, and trade alliances. Speculations are also rising regarding potential "sideline" meetings between PM Modi, President Vladimir Putin, and President Xi Jinping, shaping regional dialogue further.
Ever since their encounter in Kazan a year ago, India and China have been proceeding with slow steps towards thawing bilateral tensions. One of these steps is the resumption of the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, a religious pilgrimage that is sometimes regarded as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill.
Established in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a regional grouping whose purpose is to promote political stability, security cooperation, and economic integration in Eurasia. Its member states today are India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
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