Ice breaks

New Delhi, Aug 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on Sunday, where the two leaders projected India and China as development partners rather than rivals.

The meeting came against the backdrop of rising global trade tensions and a shifting geopolitical landscape. This year’s SCO gathering, attended by more than 20 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, was overshadowed by escalating trade wars with the United States.

Xi told Modi that China and India “should be partners, not rivals,” and urged that both sides “approach and handle our relationship from a strategic height and long-term perspective.” He added, “It is the right choice for both sides to be friends.”

Modi, for his part, emphasised that the disengagement along the border last year had created “an atmosphere of peace and stability” between the two countries. “Our cooperation is linked to the interests of 2.8 billion people of our two countries. This will also pave the way for the welfare of all humanity. We are committed to advancing our relations based on mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity,” he said.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the work of their Special Representatives in managing the border situation and reaffirmed their commitment to pursue a “fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable” settlement.

They also highlighted the importance of people-to-people ties, noting the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and the restoration of direct flights, alongside plans to expand trade and investment while narrowing the trade deficit. Modi underlined that both India and China pursue strategic autonomy and that their relationship “should not be viewed through the lens of a third country.”

The talks came at a time when India’s ties with the United States are under strain. President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods in response to Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, while Moscow faces fresh threats of sanctions over its ongoing war in Ukraine. Against this backdrop, Modi’s engagement with Xi signals a recalibration of India’s diplomacy. With the world’s two most populous nations also being among the largest economies, their cooperation has global implications. Modi congratulated China on its SCO presidency and invited Xi to the BRICS Summit that India will host in 2026. Xi welcomed the invitation and assured Beijing’s support for India’s chairmanship.

The latest meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi is the continuation of a long and often difficult journey in India-China relations. Since the 1962 war, ties have swung between confrontation and cautious cooperation, with key resets attempted through high-level visits such as Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 trip, Vajpayee’s 2003 initiative, and Xi’s 2014 visit to India. Informal summits at Wuhan and Chennai sought to stabilise relations, but the 2020 clashes in Eastern Ladakh brought them to their lowest point in decades. The step-by-step thaw since the Kazan BRICS Summit in 2024, capped by the Tianjin talks, suggests that both countries are now willing to invest in a slow rebuilding of trust.

Economics and people-to-people contacts are emerging as the new anchors of this recalibration. Beijing’s decision earlier this year to lift export restrictions on fertilisers and key industrial goods, along with the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, soon direct flights, and visa facilitation, reflects a pragmatic turn. For both Modi and Xi, the task ahead lies in ensuring that these areas of cooperation help prevent differences from sliding back into disputes. Whether the Tianjin meeting marks another reset in the turbulent history of India-China ties will depend on how consistently both sides can align strategic restraint with mutual economic interests.