NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China later this month, his first trip to the country in seven years, a government source said, signalling a potential diplomatic thaw between New Delhi and Beijing amid rising tensions with the United States.
Modi will attend a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on August 31, Reuters reported, citing a government source with direct knowledge of the matter.
There is no official confirmation about the visit from New Delhi or Beijing.
The visit comes at a time when India’s relations with the United States are experiencing their most serious crisis in years.
Tensions between New Delhi and Washington have escalated after US President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian countries on Indian imports.
He has also warned of further, unspecified penalties over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
Modi’s participation in the SCO summit—a regional political and security bloc that includes China and Russia—comes amid signs of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing.
The visit follows a sharp deterioration in Sino-Indian ties after a deadly military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.
However, a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia last October helped initiate a gradual easing of tensions, which had significantly disrupted business and travel between the two nations.
Meanwhile, Trump has also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on imports from BRICS countries, including India, accusing the bloc of “aligning with anti-American policies.”
On Wednesday, Trump stated that his administration would soon decide on penalties related to Russian oil imports, depending on the outcome of US diplomatic efforts to secure a last-minute ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
His top diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, is currently in Moscow, just two days ahead of a deadline set by Trump for Russia to agree to a peace deal or face new sanctions.
In a major development, India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens last month.
Established in 2001, the SCO is an inter-governmental organisation comprising 10 member states — China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
