Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, with the possibility of combining the trip with a visit to Japan for the annual summit, according to individuals familiar with the matter. This visit comes after Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October 2024. That meeting marked their first structured interaction since October 2019 and took place shortly after India and China reached a significant agreement on patrolling protocols along their disputed border.

During the October meeting, Prime Minister Modi had underlined the importance of maintaining peace and stability at the border, calling it a shared priority. He emphasized that mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity should be the foundation of the India-China relationship and expressed hope for open-hearted and constructive dialogue. President Xi, in response, stressed the need for increased communication and cooperation between the two countries, and the importance of properly managing disputes. He also noted the responsibility both nations carry in setting a positive example for developing countries by strengthening their unity and global influence.

Earlier in June, India and China agreed to hold discussions focused on resolving specific issues in trade and economic relations, as part of broader efforts to stabilize bilateral ties following the military standoff in the Ladakh region along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This agreement followed a meeting in New Delhi between Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong. Both sides also agreed to work on resuming direct air connectivity, which has been suspended since 2020.

Tensions between the two countries remain visible in multilateral settings as well. In June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao, China, but refused to sign the joint communique. His decision was based on the document’s failure to acknowledge terrorism concerns raised by India, especially the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The communique, however, included a reference to the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Pakistan by the Balochistan Liberation Army. During the same period, China had expressed strong support for Pakistan amid the brief military escalation with India under Operation Sindoor.

However, following the U.S. decision to designate The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy group responsible for the Pahalgam attack, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), China changed its stance and publicly condemned the April 22 incident. The Chinese foreign ministry, through spokesperson Lin Jian, reiterated China’s opposition to all forms of terrorism and called for stronger regional cooperation to combat such threats and ensure collective stability. The SCO, a 10-member Eurasian political and security alliance, comprises India, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.