Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have begun a bilateral meeting in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, state media outlet Xinhua said on Sunday.
Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The SCO summit, to be held in Tianjin today and tomorrow, gathers more than 20 world leaders in a powerful show of Global South solidarity, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Another 16 countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
Earlier this month, China had welcomed Modi’s planned visit, as foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded to media reports. Together, China and India account for over one-third of the world’s population, and both economies and their global influence are on the rise.
Following the 2020 border clash, China-India relations went through a long period of frostiness, severely impacting political trust, economic ties and people-to-people exchanges.
In October last year, the successful meeting between the Chinese and Indian leaders in Kazan set the tone for a fresh restart in bilateral relations.
Xi yesterday began welcoming leaders, including Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Egyptian Premier Moustafa Madbouly. Putin is also due to arrive in Tianjin ahead of the summit.
China and Russia have used the SCO — sometimes touted as a counter to the Western-dominated Nato military alliance — to deepen ties with Central Asian states.
PM Shehbaz in China
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also set to attend the high-level SCO moot. Arriving in China yesterday with Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the premier said he looked forward to meeting Xi and other world leaders.
According to a statement from the Foreign Office (FO), PM Shehbaz is leading a delegation from Pakistan to participate in the SCO’s Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit from August 31 to September 1.
Leaders from Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Myanmar and others, as well as the chief of the United Nations and heads of various regional and international organisations, will also attend as part of the expanded format.
PM Shehbaz is slated to reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to promoting multilateralism, enhancing regional security and advancing sustainable development, the FO said. He is also expected to have bilateral meetings with other SCO leaders and invited members to “strengthen diplomatic relations”.
On the engagements in China, the FO said the prime minister would hold meetings with President Xi and Premier Li Qiang “during which multifaceted dimensions of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation would be discussed”.
