China welcomes PM Modi for SCO summit amid US tariffs

Amid frosty US-India ties over President Donald Trump’s decision to slap a total tariff of 50 per cent on Indian goods, China on Friday (August 8) welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

‘SCO, a gathering of solidarity’

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, while welcoming PM Modi, expressed hope that with the combined effort of all participants, the SCO summit would become a gathering of “solidarity, friendship and fruitful” results.

“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,” said Guo.

“China will host the SCO Summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1 this year. Leaders of over 20 countries, including all member states of the SCO and heads of 10 international organisations, will attend relevant events. The SCO Tianjin Summit will be the largest summit in scale since the establishment of the SCO,” he added.

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PM may visit China in August

According to a PTI report, the Prime Minister is expected to travel to China later this month, after a gap of over seven years, to attend the annual summit of the SCO. The report further states that Modi is expected to embark on a visit to Japan around August 29, and after concluding the trip, he will travel to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the SCO summit. However, there has been no official confirmation of Modi’s visit to Japan and China.

‘China’s trade with Russia lawful’

As for Trump’s recent statement saying that secondary tariffs on China for Beijing’s purchase of Russian oil were a possibility, Guo said it was completely legitimate for China to engage in trade with other countries in including Russia.

“China’s position on this issue is consistent and clear. It is legitimate and lawful for China to engage in economic, trade and energy cooperation with other countries, including Russia. We will continue to take energy supply measures that are right for China based on our national interests,” added Guo.

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The backdrop

Modi last visited China in June 2018 to attend the SCO summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in October 2019 for the second "informal summit".

However, the relationship came under stress due to the eastern Ladakh border face-off. The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020, and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

(With agency inputs)