Overview

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in China on Saturday evening for the Aug. 31–Sep. 1 SCO leaders’ summit, his first trip to the country in more than seven years.
• Modi is scheduled to hold a bilateral with President Xi Jinping on Sunday to review economic ties and discuss further steps to stabilise relations after the Ladakh standoff.
• He is also expected to meet President Vladimir Putin on Monday, with trade pressures and the Ukraine conflict likely to feature in the talks.
• India and China have recently moved to normalise engagement, including phased disengagement at friction points, resumption of direct flights, reopening of border trade routes, and the restart of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra.
• The summit unfolds as U.S. tariff actions weigh on India’s trade, and some reports say the White House has urged European nations to mirror its penalties on New Delhi.