Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the port city of Tianjin in China ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025.
During the meeting, Modi noted the positive direction in India-China bilateral relations after his meeting with the Chinese President in Kazan last year.
“Last year in Kazan, we had very fruitful discussions, which gave a positive direction to our relations. After the disengagement on the border, an atmosphere of peace and stability has been created. An agreement has been reached between our Special Representatives regarding border management. Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been resumed. Direct flights between the two countries are also being resumed,” Prime Minister Modi said during the bilateral meeting with the Chinese President.
The Prime Minister noted that the interests of 2.8 billion people of India and China are linked to the bilateral cooperation of the two countries.
“This will also pave the way for the welfare of the entire humanity,” Modi told Jinping during their meeting.
The PM stressed that New Delhi is committed to take this relationship forward based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity.
“We are determined to take our relationship forward based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity. We extend our best wishes for the successful hosting of the SCO Summit, and I thank you for the invitation for this visit and this meeting,” the PM said.
Coming together of Dragon-elephant is the right choice: Xi Jinping
In his remarks during the meeting, the Chinese President said that India and China shoulder the historic responsibility of improving the well-being of our two peoples, promoting the solidarity and rejuvenation of developing countries, and promoting the progress of human society.
Xi asserted that it is the right choice for both countries to be friends and to have the
dragon and elephant come together.
“It is the right choice for both countries to be friends who have good neighbourly and amicable ties, partners who enable each other’s success, and to have the dragon and the elephant come together,” Xi added.
The meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi comes after a gap of 10 months. The two leaders had last met in Kazan, Russia on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2024.
It was only after that interaction the ties between India and China started to show signs of improvement.
Historically, India and China have not been friends. The two countries fought a full- fledged war in 1962 over border disputes, followed by a few skirmishes over the decades. The ties further deteriorated after the deadly military standoff in 2020.
Today’s meeting between Modi and Xi also holds significance as it comes against the backdrop of global trade disruptions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s regressive policies and imposition of steep tariffs on India.
SCO Summit 2025, a major show of the Global South solidarity amid US tariffs
The 2025 SCO Summit, the largest since it was founded in 2001, is already being hailed by China as “an important force in building a new type of international relations.”
Around 20 world leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, including PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been invited to attend the summit, in what is being seen as a major show of the Global South solidarity against US President Trump’s imposition of tariffs.
Experts believe that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to use the SCO Summit as an opportunity to showcase how a new world order will look without America and Europe, with India, China and Russia emerging as the leaders of the Global South.
