The Indian PM will be in Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that he will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, China.

Modi will visit China on Saturday for the 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. In a post on X, Modi said India has played "an active and constructive role" in the SCO.

"India will keep working with SCO members to address various shared challenges," he said. "I will also be meeting President Xi Jinping, President Putin and other leaders during the Summit."

The SCO is an international security bloc that was established in 2001 by China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan became full members in July 2023. The grouping now has 10 members, including Iran and Belarus.

Modi's visit to China comes at a time when India-US relations are strained over Washington's 50% tariffs on Indian imports.

The US slapped India with 25% tariffs in early August after talks for a trade deal broke down. A further 25% was imposed on New Delhi as a penalty this week, after India refused to stop buying Russian oil.

New Delhi's ties with Beijing have been on the mend since October 2024 when Modi and Xi held talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan. Ties were strained after a 2020 border clash claimed the lives of soldiers on both sides.

China has firmly come in support of India over US tariffs. "The US has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and is threatening to impose more," China's ambassador in New Delhi Xu Feihong said last week. China firmly opposes it. In the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. China will firmly stand with India."

Top officials from Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi have also spoken of reviving the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral format, under which the foreign ministers of the three countries meet.

(RT.com)