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China has officially extended a welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which will be held in Tianjin at the end of this month.
Addressing a press briefing in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made this announcement, expressing optimism that the gathering would strengthen regional cooperation. The Ministry of External Affairs has not yet issued a statement on the Prime Minister's visit. The development comes amid tariffs imposed on India by United States President Donald Trump for buying Russian oil. "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. China will host the SCO Summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 this year and leaders of over 20 countries, including all member states of the SCO, and heads of 10 international organisations will attend relevant events as per the Chinese Ministry spokesperson. Prime Minister Modi last visited China in 2018 on two occasions. First, during the month of April for the India-China Informal Summit at Wuhan, and later in June for the 18th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO in Qingdao. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2024 on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. During their meeting, both leaders welcomed the agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. They agreed that the Special Representatives would meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. This meeting occurred shortly after the disengagement and patrolling agreement, and the resolution of issues that had arisen in the India-China border areas in 2020. It was a highly anticipated meeting between PM Modi and President Xi, as it came at a pivotal moment in India-China relations, during a time when there was a border standoff between India and China that began in eastern Ladakh along the LAC in 2020, sparked by Chinese military actions. PM Modi also assured India's full support to China's 2025 SCO presidency during the meeting. the SCO was established in the year 2001. Apart from India the other countries in the bloc are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan,Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' meeting in Qingdao in China in June this year. Earlier this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, along with fellow Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers, called on Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. During the meeting, Jaishankar apprised Xi of the recent development of bilateral ties and conveyed the greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Xi. The EAM was on an official visit to China to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting. (ANI)
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