Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formally accepted the invitation extended by Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, scheduled to be held in Tianjin, China from August 31 to September 1, 2025.

The invitation was personally conveyed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a senior Politburo member of the Communist Party of China, during his meeting with PM Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday. 

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to President Xi for the invitation and confirmed his attendance, underscoring India’s continued engagement within the SCO framework and the importance New Delhi attaches to dialogue and multilateral regional cooperation.

During his discussions with Wang Yi, Prime Minister Modi emphasised the significance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the India-China border, reiterating India’s steadfast commitment to working towards a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the long-standing boundary issue. 

Highlighting the need for stability in relations, PM Modi stressed that respect for each other’s interests, sensitivities, and sovereignty must remain the cornerstone of better bilateral understanding.

This emphasis follows the broader context of strained relations in recent years due to border tensions, and reflects India’s nuanced approach of balancing assertiveness on security issues with openness to constructive engagement in trade, cultural, and diplomatic exchanges.

Wang Yi, on his part, conveyed a positive assessment of his separate engagements with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, as well as the 24th meeting of the Special Representatives on border affairs, which he co-chaired with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

His remarks indicated Beijing’s readiness to build on recent diplomatic progress and work towards normalising relations, while also highlighting the importance of trust-building measures between the two neighbours. Both sides noted the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, seen as a symbolic gesture of goodwill and a sign of slowly stabilising bilateral ties.

PM Modi acknowledged the “steady and positive progress” that has marked India-China relations since his meeting with President Xi in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. That interaction, described at the time as a breakthrough in stalled communication, laid the foundation for the current phase of improved engagement.

Guided by mutual respect, shared interests, and sensitivity to core national concerns, this progress has created a platform for leaders of both countries to discuss broader regional and global issues in a more stable environment. He reiterated that predictable and constructive ties between India and China not only serve bilateral interests but also have wider implications for regional security, economic development, and global peace and prosperity.

In a message posted on social media platform X, PM Modi reflected on the developments, asserting that India-China ties have advanced “guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities” over the past year.

He also conveyed optimism about his planned meeting with President Xi in Tianjin, signalling that India expects the SCO Summit to serve both as a multilateral platform for engagement and as an opportunity to advance bilateral dialogue at the highest political level.

Modi’s tone indicated cautious optimism, rooted in the recognition that while challenges remain in managing the border situation, channels of communication are functioning more effectively than before.

The SCO Summit in Tianjin is expected to be significant not only for India-China relations but also for regional geopolitics in the broader Eurasian space amid heightened global uncertainties. As China assumes the presidency of the summit, Modi’s acceptance of the invitation underscores India’s readiness to engage with all major SCO stakeholders and its strategic interest in shaping the grouping’s agenda. 

For India, the summit offers space to pursue both its immediate interests with China and its broader regional vision of a peaceful, stable, and multipolar Asia, where cooperative security and economic integration play a crucial role.

Agencies