Thaw in India-China ties? Modi, Xi interact, shake hands on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Kyrgyzstan
PM Narendra Modi, who is in Bishkek to participate in the 26th SCO Summit, interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, signalling a thaw in relations between the two countries.
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to attend the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday (local time).
While it remains unclear what the two leaders discussed, a video of their interaction was posted on social media, signalling a thaw in relations between the two countries.
Before the two leaders joined others for a family photograph at the 26th SCO Summit, PM Modi and Xi Jinping were seen shaking hands, marking a rare moment of personal diplomacy between the two neighbours. As cameras focused on Bishkek’s Yrys Ordo Congress Hall, Russian President Vladimir Putin also joined the interaction between Modi and Xi.
According to news agency ANI, the development comes months after PM Modi invited Xi Jinping to attend the BRICS Summit that India will host later this month. Offering Beijing's support to New Delhi's BRICS presidency, Xi thanked PM Modi for the invitation.
Meanwhile, CGTN journalist Zhao Yunfei said on Tuesday that India and China should make greater use of multilateral forums such as the SCO and BRICS to deepen engagement and advance their shared interests.
He spoke about India-China ties and the upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi, adding that the two multilateral platforms could provide opportunities for the leaders of both countries to meet and engage.
Zhao said, “I think it has created multiple occasions for the two presidents to get a chance to meet. This would be really good for the relationship between China and India because we are neighbouring countries. China has always attached importance to its neighbours because we are neighbours, and then we have to settle all the differences as well as pursue the common ground altogether to pursue the common wealth of the people in the region.”
Thaw in India-China ties?
The interaction between the two leaders comes days after India's National Security Advisor (NSA) and Special Representative for the India-China Boundary Question, Ajit Doval, visited China to attend the Special Representatives' talks on the India-China boundary issue with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Doval, who was in Beijing on 24 and 25 August, also met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. In a social media post, the Indian Embassy said Doval and Han exchanged views on maintaining peace and stability along the border and deepening bilateral ties across economic, political and multilateral spheres. The talks followed the understanding reached between the leaders of India and China.
Relations between New Delhi and Beijing were strained after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. However, since then, both sides have taken measures to improve their relations.
In an effort to ease tensions, PM Modi and Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of key international summits, including the SCO Summit in 2025 in Tianjin. Before that, they met in 2024 on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Kazan, where they reaffirmed that India and China were development partners rather than rivals.
