'Gathering of solidarity, friendship...': China welcomes PM Modi for SCO Summit visit

China on Friday (Aug 8) welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which is expected to take place later this month on August 31. The SCO currently has nine members- China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan. As per the PTI, PM Narendra Modi is likely to attend the SCO Summit scheduled for August 31 to September 1 in Tianjin, and this will be his first trip to China in seven years (since 2018). Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, told reporters that China is happy to welcome PM Modi for the Tianjin Summit.

"China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated, according to ANI.

According to Guo Jiakun, leaders from over 20 countries, including all SCO member nations and heads of 10 global organisations, are expected to attend the summit. He added that this would be the largest SCO Summit since its establishment.

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PM Modi’s visit to China is part of a two-nation tour, which also includes Japan. He is expected to go to Japan around August 29 before heading to Tianjin for the SCO Summit. This visit aims to improve the ties between the two countries (India and China), which deteriorated after a clash between their armies in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. So far, there has been no official confirmation of the visit.

PM Modi's last visit to China was in June 2018 for the SCO summit, and Chinese President Xi Jinping last visited India in October 2019 for an informal meeting.