PM Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin; both call India and China partners, not rivals
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin on 31 August 2025, their first meeting since Kazan in October 2024.
Summary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on 31 August 2025. The two leaders welcomed steady progress since their last meeting in Kazan in October 2024 and reaffirmed that India and China are development partners and not rivals, and that differences should not turn into disputes. They noted the successful disengagement of last year and peace along the border, backed the recent decisions of the two Special Representatives, and called for direct flights and visa facilitation building on the resumed Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. The Prime Minister said the relationship should not be seen through a third-country lens, and invited President Xi to the BRICS Summit that India will host in 2026.
Key facts
- Date / venue
- 31 Aug 2025, Tianjin (SCO Summit sidelines)
- Previous meeting
- Kazan, October 2024
- Key message
- Development partners, not rivals; differences should not become disputes
- Border
- Disengagement last year; support for Special Representatives' decisions
- People-to-people
- Direct flights, visa facilitation; Kailash Manasarovar Yatra resumed
- Invitation
- Xi invited to BRICS Summit hosted by India in 2026
- Also met
- Cai Qi, Politburo Standing Committee member
Practice MCQs 5 questions
Where did PM Modi hold a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on 31 August 2025?
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Correct answer: C — Tianjin
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin.
Before the Tianjin meeting of 31 August 2025, PM Modi and President Xi had last met in:
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Correct answer: B — Kazan, October 2024
The PIB readout says the leaders welcomed progress since their last meeting in Kazan in October 2024.
At the Tianjin meeting, PM Modi invited President Xi Jinping to which summit to be hosted by India in 2026?
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Correct answer: D — BRICS Summit
The Prime Minister invited President Xi to the BRICS Summit that India will host in 2026; Xi offered support to India's BRICS Presidency.
Consider the following statements about the Modi–Xi meeting of 31 August 2025: 1. The leaders said India and China are development partners and not rivals. 2. The Prime Minister said India–China relations should be seen through the lens of their ties with third countries. Which of the above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Prime Minister said the relationship should NOT be seen through a third-country lens, as both pursue strategic autonomy.
In his Tianjin remarks of 31 August 2025, PM Modi said the cooperation between India and China is linked to the interests of how many people of the two nations?
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Correct answer: B — 2.8 billion
Both the readout and the Prime Minister's remarks refer to the 2.8 billion people of the two countries.