VOIWORLD/Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Tianjin, China, from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This marks his first visit to China since 2019, following heightened tensions between the two countries after the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. Before arriving in China, PM Modi will travel to Japan on August 30 to participate in the annual India-Japan Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The timing of PM Modi’s visit is significant, as it coincides with rising criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has targeted the BRICS nations for continuing to purchase oil from Russia. Trump has accused BRICS of undermining the dominance of the U.S. dollar and has taken a hard stance on India’s trade with Russia, imposing a 25 percent tariff and threatening further penalties. Russia, another key member of both BRICS and the SCO, will be sending a delegation to the Tianjin summit, although it remains unclear whether President Vladimir Putin will attend in person.
In the lead-up to Modi’s visit, several high-level Indian officials have traveled to China for various SCO-related meetings. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar all made trips to China. During his visit, Jaishankar met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, reflecting ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two nations despite lingering tensions.
In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China. However, he refused to sign a joint document that, according to sources, would have weakened India’s position on terrorism—particularly in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. The failure to reach consensus on this issue led the SCO to forego issuing a joint statement. Sources indicated that China, which currently holds the SCO chair, and its close ally Pakistan, attempted to omit references to the Pahalgam attack while including language about Balochistan—a move seen as a veiled accusation against India.
The SCO comprises nine member states: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan. As global geopolitical tensions continue to evolve, PM Modi’s participation in the SCO summit is expected to draw significant attention, both for its diplomatic implications and its timing amid shifting global alliances.
