Xi Jinping to Host Putin and Modi at Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host more than twenty world leaders in the port city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Among the most notable attendees are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a time of heightened international tensions.

The summit will mark Modi’s first visit to China in more than seven years, in a context still shaped by the 2020 border clashes between the two countries. The Indian leader already shared the stage with Xi and Putin during the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, but his presence in Tianjin seeks to continue a process of easing bilateral tensions. Officials from the Russian Embassy in New Delhi indicated that Moscow expects the summit could open the door to trilateral talks with China and India.