PM Modi SCO Summit LIVE: PM Modi lands in Delhi after Japan, China visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held talks with Cai Qi, a key member of the Politburo Standing Committee and secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party. Earlier, he held a bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A Chinese journalist, Zhang Xiao, who speaks Hindi and uses the Hindi name Anjali, told ANI that India and China are neighbouring nations, major developing countries, and two of the largest economies in the world. She stressed that the trade potential between the two sides is huge and said both countries should avoid tensions and work together. She also pointed out that China’s expertise in high technology is recognised worldwide, offering scope for cooperation with India.

Speaking about the SCO Tianjin Summit, she added that the forum provides a valuable platform to strengthen India-China ties, and highlighted Tianjin as an important city for such discussions.

During the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Modi announced the restart of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. He also extended his congratulations to President Xi for China’s successful leadership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his meeting with PM Narendra Modi, put a spotlight the shared legacy and responsibility of India and China, describing them as ancient civilisations, the world’s most populous nations, and key voices of the Global South. He stressed that both countries carry a common duty to improve the lives of their people, strengthen unity among developing nations, and contribute to global progress.

PM Modi on Sunday spoke about the destruction caused by floods and landslides due to heavy rains and said such natural disasters are severely testing the country. In his Mann Ki Baat address, he described how houses were swept away, fields submerged, bridges broken, and families torn apart by the relentless floods, leaving people in deep distress.

Despite this grim situation, he pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir achieved two milestones amid the calamity, hosting the first-ever day-night cricket match in Pulwama and organising the Khelo India Water Sports Festival at Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Modi praised the tireless efforts of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and security forces who worked round the clock to save lives.

During his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed happiness over meeting him again and welcomed him to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. Xi noted that their meeting in Kazan last year had helped restart and improve China-India relations. He added that both sides had acted on the consensus reached earlier, which has since led to fresh progress in bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

India has long pushed for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, but support from China and Russia has been lukewarm, likely because they did not want their sway with the West reduced. For New Delhi, the loss is limited as Washington’s trade policies remain uncertain.

India had earlier also decided not to sign the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s joint statement, pointing to a pro-Pakistan tilt in the failure to mention the April 22 terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. Expectations were already low that India would sign the document.

In the 125th Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the entire country is celebrating Ganesh Utsav with great enthusiasm and many more festivals are around the corner. He urged people to focus on “Swadeshi” during the celebrations, encouraging them to choose Indian-made products, whether gifts, clothes, decorations, or even lighting items, so that every aspect of life reflects support for locally made goods.

Since its creation in 2001, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has been largely led by China, the region’s biggest economic power, while Russia has tried to use it to retain influence over Central Asian nations like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Over time, Russia’s economic role has weakened, especially under strict Western sanctions. Still, Moscow and Beijing have relied on the SCO to build regional military cooperation, though this has mostly been limited to joint drills and exercises.

Countries like Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, and India joined later, hoping to gain from the group’s growing weight. But the benefits are mixed, Belarus and Iran face global criticism over sanctions and rights issues, while Pakistan remains heavily reliant on China for arms. India, on the other hand, has stayed neutral, a stance seen as serving its own strategic interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel across Tianjin in his Aurus presidential car, which will carry Chinese diplomatic number plates, as per a report by India Today.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed India and China as two of the most ancient civilisations called for the two countries to be “good friends” and “amicable neighbours”. Watch here:

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#watch | Tianjin, China: During his bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping says, "... China and India are two ancient civilisations in the East. We are the world's two most populous countries, and we are also important members of the Global South.… pic.twitter.com/uJV595g54i

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2025

In his remarks, Xi Jinping highlighted that India and China are the world’s two most populous countries and key members of the Global South. He stressed the need for both nations to act as friendly neighbours and work together, symbolically referring to China as the Dragon and India as the Elephant.

Xi Jinping, in his statement during the bilateral talks, welcomed Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO summit, expressing happiness at meeting him again and recalling their successful talks in Kazan last year. More details of the meeting are still awaited.

PM Modi announced at the bilateral meet that the direct flights between India and China will soon restart. He also said that the well-being of 2.8 billion people depends on strong cooperation between the two countries.

The bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, China, is over for now. The government will hold a press briefing towards the end of the day. Stay with us for further updates.

Here’s what PM Modi said to Xi Jinping at the bilateral meet held today:

“We are committed to take forward bilateral ties”

“There was consent between our special representatives on border management”

“Peace and stability is maintained along border following disengagement”

“Direct flights between India and China are being resumed”

“Welfare of 2.8 billion people is linked to our bilateral cooperation”

“We are committed to take forward our ties based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity”

PM Modi congratulated Xi Jinping for the SCO Summit and also called for ‘vishwas, samman and samvedanshilta’ between India and China. Watch here:

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Sharing my remarks during meeting with President Xi Jinping. https://t.co/pw1OAMBWdc

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2025

First visuals from PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bilateral meeting, are in. See here:

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, China.

(Source: ANI/DD News) pic.twitter.com/jrjh4TrfUN

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2025

NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri are also attending the bilateral talks between PM Modi and Xi Jinping. However, EAM S Jaishankar didn’t accompany PM to Tiajin. The first visuals of the meet have come in. We will be sharing the images soon with you. Keep watching this space.

PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are holding bilateral talks currently during a time of global trade challenges caused by US tariff policies. Modi arrived in China on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first in seven years, mainly to attend the SCO summit.

In their meeting, the two leaders are expected to review economic relations between India and China and discuss ways to further normalise ties that had been strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The talks gained extra importance as India-US relations also came under pressure due to the Trump administration’s trade and tariff decisions.

The bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping is currently underway. Check out these inside visuals from the SCO summit in Tianjin.

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#watch | Tianjin, China: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO) from August 31 to September 1.

Inside visuals of the International Media Centre at the venue of the Shanghai Cooperation Council (SCO), in Tianjin pic.twitter.com/hudj6SDjUa

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2025

PM Modi and Xi Jinping’s meeting has begun and is being held at the Yingbin Hotel. The meet is going to be 40 minutes long. Stay with us as the first picture of the two leaders shaking hands can come anytime now.

The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi is set to begin in the next 10 minutes, reports Indian Express’ Diplomatic Editor Shubhajit Roy from Tianjin. Modi will be joined by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome on his arrival in Tianjin on Sunday. Ahead of his visit, he described the China-Russia partnership as an important force for global stability. In an interview with China’s state news agency Xinhua, he said both countries share a common goal of shaping a fairer, multipolar world order, signaling their push to counter what they view as a US-dominated global system.

The SCO which includes India, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, represents a significant bloc. Together, its members oversee large portions of the world’s energy resources and account for about 40% of the global population.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Myanmar’s acting President General Min Aung Hlaing today and Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, September 1, 2025, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. The meeting with Putin is particularly important as it comes soon after a call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who urged Modi to send a clear message to Moscow regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

PM Modi and President Xi Jinping’s meeting will begin shortly. The two leaders last met in October 2024 in the Russian city of Kazan during the BRICS summit. That meeting led to the withdrawal of troops from two tense points in eastern Ladakh. It was followed by talks that cleared the way for the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the issuing of Indian visas to Chinese tourists, and steps to restart direct flights between India and China.

Chinese officials have said that this is the biggest SCO summit so far, with grand displays of diplomacy aimed at showing President Xi’s country as a strong and steady alternative to the United States. The timing is significant, as Washington under Donald Trump is facing tensions with allies and is locked in a global trade war.

The meeting also comes just days before a major military parade in Beijing, meant to highlight China’s growing defence strength. Leaders expected at the event include North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and pro-Russia European figures like Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.

US journalist and political commentator Rick Sanchez criticised Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, calling it a “disrespectful and ignorant policy.” He argued that Donald Trump often makes choices driven by grudges and without scientific reasoning, while India has been wise to stand firm.

Speaking to ANI, Sanchez said the move on secondary tariffs is “extremely preposterous in the eyes of most people” and compared it to treating India like schoolchildren who need instructions.

He stressed that “India’s the big boy, not a schoolchild” and described New Delhi’s clear message, that the US cannot dictate where it buys oil from, as “such a cataclysmic, transformational moment.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even though in China, will hold Mann ki Baat at 11:00 am today. You can hear it live on the Narendra Modi app or tune in here at Financial Express to track our coverage on the same.

Prime Minister Modi reached Tianjin on Saturday evening for the SCO Summit after finishing his two-day visit to Japan. He was greeted with a special cultural welcome, where Chinese artists played Indian instruments such as the sitar, santoor, and tabla, while dancers performed Bharatanatyam.