Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tianjin on Saturday (August 30, 2025), for his first visit to China since 2018. He is set to hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and several other leaders before attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit on Monday (September 1, 2025). The Prime Minister’s much-anticipated meeting with Mr. Xi on Sunday (August 31, 2025) afternoon comes amidst a marked improvement in bilateral ties against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war. This is the second meeting between the two leaders in less than a year, after their talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan last October.
Even without the overhang of the rift with the U.S., Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit is replete with symbolism, some awkward encounters and many significant firsts. Mr. Modi will come face to face with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the first time since the Pahalgam terror attacks and Operation Sindoor. This will be his first in-person attendance at the SCO Summit in three years, a grouping that he appeared to have put on the backburner since his last appearance at the Samarkand Summit in 2022.
