Overview

• Modi attended the 25th SCO summit in Tianjin and held his first in‑person meeting with Xi since 2018, signalling a cautious reset.
• The bilateral produced concrete deliverables: resumption of direct flights, eased visas, a partial lifting of export curbs, and reopening of the Kailash‑Mansarovar pilgrim route.
• At the plenary, Modi pressed zero tolerance for terrorism, cited the Pahalgam massacre, and reinforced red lines after June’s refusal to back a diluted defence communiqué.
• Modi and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed a principle‑based partnership, keeping the Russia channel active for energy and broader strategic continuity.
• New Delhi is leveraging SCO engagement to re‑anchor ties in Central Asia and proposed a Civilisational Dialogue Forum, while remaining wary of weak enforcement and signalling risks.