A file photo of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping
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Diplomatic momentum between India and China is gathering pace, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to come face-to-face at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek next week, setting the stage for a possible substantive engagement when Xi visits New Delhi for the BRICS summit later in September, sources said. Moscow has indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin also plans to meet Modi on the sidelines of the Bishkek gathering — a meeting the Indian government has since confirmed — ahead of a bigger meeting between the two leaders in Delhi later this month.This sequence of high-level engagements between India, China and Russia, which include the successful round of border talks between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent Moscow visit for a trade and tech meet, comes at a time when India is facing uncertainty over trade and strategic relations with the US.“The thaw in India-China relations is now getting translated into the possibility of closer trade and strategic ties. The meetings at the SCO Summit and BRICS Summit could be crucial in determining the road ahead,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.Indian officials did not confirm if a meeting between Xi and Modi would happen on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, but sources said that there was a possibility. “There may be a possibility of a short bilateral meet between Xi and Modi at SCO sidelines but nothing has been finalised. Even if it doesn’t take place, there is a much bigger meeting that is to take place in New Delhi soon,” the source said.Xi’s India visitXi’s proposed visit to New Delhi on September 12-13 for the BRICS Summit would be his first in seven years, coming after bilateral ties nosedived following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the subsequent military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control. Relations began showing signs of improvement in October 2024 after the two sides reached an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the LAC. This was followed by a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. Since then, diplomatic and military-level engagements have gathered momentum.The latest push to stabilise India-China ties came with the 25th round of talks between Doval and Yi where the two sides reviewed progress in implementing earlier agreements and reiterated their commitment to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border.The SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan on August 31-September 1 is to be attended by the heads of state and senior representatives of members which include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India (joined in 2017), Pakistan (joined in 2017), Iran (joined in 2023), and Belarus (joined in 2024).The Indian PM will embark on a four-day, two-nation visit to Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic from August 29 to September 1. He will first hold bilateral talks in Tashkent with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and then travel to Bishkek to attend the SCO Summit, according to the MEA.Published on August 27, 2026
