PM Narendra Modi will visit China for the SCO summit, his first trip since the 2020 Galwan clash. The visit marks a key moment in India-China diplomacy amid continuing border tensions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month, marking his first trip to the country since the deadly 2020 Galwan Valley clash. This visit, expected to draw global attention, comes at a time when India-China relations remain tense. On August 30, PM Modi is scheduled to visit Japan and following which he will repotedly head to China for a 2-day visit. His participation in the SCO summit signals a possible shift in diplomatic engagement amid broader regional and global security concerns.
Earlier, Ministry of External Affairs informed that everyone would be updated at the right time about the possibility of PM Modi’s China visit.
“The SCO meeting is some months away. The participation by countries is finalised as per the mutual convenience. We will let everyone know in an appropriate time,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on July 17.
The meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping comes on the sidelines of India and China’s agreement on the patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Apart from PM Modi, Russia President Putin is also expected to attend the SCO summit.
Rajnath Singh at SCO Defence Ministers’ meet
In June 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China. According to official sources, Singh refused to sign a joint communiqué that reportedly included language India found unacceptable. The draft, sources say, downplayed the threat of terrorism and did not mention the recent Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. Due to India’s strong objections, the SCO did not issue any joint statement after the meeting.
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Officials claimed that China, as the current SCO chair, along with Pakistan, attempted to steer the focus away from terrorism in the proposed document. The text, sources added, even made indirect references to Balochistan, a sensitive region in Pakistan, in what Indian officials viewed as an attempt to shift blame onto India.
Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming visit to China for the SCO summit comes amid these tensions, and at a time when US President Donald Trump has criticised BRICS nations for purchasing oil from Russia and for what he claims is an effort to undermine the dominance of the US dollar.