Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in a bilateral meeting on August 31 at Tianjin, China, during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The encounter is the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in almost a year after a time of strained relations.
A Step Toward Normalising Bilateral Ties
The two leaders had their last summit in October last year, following which India and China declared a breakthrough in de-escalation talks after their military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The current summit is viewed as a key step towards normalizing strained relations since a fatal border clash in 2020.
Diplomatic efforts made recently have paved the way for this top-level meeting. In the last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had called on President Xi Jinping in China, where he presented greetings from PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu. Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting that he had “apprised President Xi of the recent development of our bilateral ties.”
Resumption Of Flights And Visas Signal Thaw
As a harbinger of what may be a thaw, a number of high-priority initiatives have in recent times been concluded between the two countries. Following discussions between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, the two agreed to resume direct flights and ease visas for tourists, business persons, and media workers. These are being regarded as a step towards the restoration of trust and collaboration between the two economic powers.
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