Mapping Modi-Xi interactions and the trajectory of India-China

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China's port city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, where he is also likely to hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Prime Minister's first visit to China comes amid efforts by the two sides to repair the bilateral ties that came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020.

PM Modi met the Chinese Foreign Minister

PM Modi's visit to China comes days after he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi. Sharing details about the meeting, PM Modi said both India and China were making ‘steady progress’ to strengthen their diplomatic ties. "Glad to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other's interests and sensitivities. I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity," he posted on X. 

His visit also comes at a time when India is facing increasing trade pressure from the United States. The US has imposed sweeping tariffs on Indian imports, citing concerns over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. President Donald Trump has notably doubled tariffs on several Indian goods, raising them to a steep 50 per cent.

Modi-Xi interactions and India-China relations 

The main highlight of the visit will be a possible meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. If Prime Minister Modi and President Xi meet in Tianjin, it will be their most important interaction since the deadly Galwan Valley clash of June 2020, which plunged India-China relations into the deepest crisis in decades. 

Since Galwan, Modi and Xi have avoided a full-fledged bilateral summit, but they have crossed paths at global forums.  In November 2022 at the G20 Bali summit, Modi and Xi shook hands publicly for the first time since Galwan. However, in October 2024, during the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, for the first time, both leaders held their first formal talks in five years, which set the ball rolling for stabilising ties.

India has consistently maintained that "normalcy in ties cannot return without peace on the borders." "The restoration of normalcy in our relationship will require restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas, which have been disturbed since April 2020," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had once said at a media briefing. China, meanwhile, had said it is ready to collaborate with India to improve bilateral relations and mentioned that their border disputes "should be handled properly." According to a post on X by the Chinese embassy's spokesperson in India, China also highlighted that a stable relationship is "in the interest of both countries and conducive to peace and development in this region and beyond."

India and China had held more than 21 rounds of Corps Commander Level talks, the high-level military talks between senior officers of the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to address issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). These meetings began after the June 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, which plunged bilateral ties into their worst crisis in decades.

So far, India and China have managed to pull back troops from some spots like Pangong Lake, Galwan, and Gogra-Hot Springs. But there are still disagreements in other areas, especially Depsang Plains and Demchok, where the issue has not been fully resolved yet. India and China have completely pulled back their troops from two face-off points at Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

Economic, trade and people to people ties

Earlier this year, India and China explored ways to rebuild ties and agreed to initiate efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges, including the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. The yatra was suspended since the COVID-19 outbreak. India also resumed tourist visas for Chinese nationals.

China has also agreed to lift restrictions on the export of fertilizers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines to India after External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker and Wang Yi's meeting in India in August 2025.

Both countries have agreed to work towards resuming the granting of visas for nationals of either countries. There are ongoing negotiations for direct flights between India and mainland China.

Trajectory of India-China relations

The trajectory of India-China relations has changed dramatically over the past few decades, from post-colonial brotherhood to current strategic rivalry. Over the decades, the two countries have taken several steps to build economic ties, leading to a rise in bilateral trade, despite ongoing tensions along their shared border. But the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020 completely upset this balance.

In recent months, however, signs of cautious engagement have begun to re-emerge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi's meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia last October set the stage for a slow normalisation of ties. The upcoming SCO summit in Tianjin is being closely watched for any sign of a thaw. PM Modi's engagement at the SCO summit is expected to further India's diplomatic outreach and economic strategy in the region.

Amid growing US-China rivalry and Donald Trump's strained relations with New Delhi, India's presence at the SCO summit assumes even greater significance. For New Delhi, the summit is not just about engagement with Beijing but also about maintaining a strategic balance in a rapidly changing global order. Participation offers India an opportunity to establish itself as a major regional power as well as keep channels of dialogue open with China.

According to CNN, in 2024, China was India's second-largest trading partner after the United States, with bilateral trade touching $118 billion, according to India's commerce department.