PM Modi to visit China: First trip to Beijing since 2020 Galwan clash; will attend SCO meeting – Reports | India News
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit China on August 31 in his first visit since the 2020 Galwan clash and amid tariff tussle with the United States, according to several reports. PM Modi will reportedly be visiting neighbouring China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) Summit, which is a key annual meeting of member states to discuss regional security, economic cooperation, and geopolitical issues. Both leaders last met in 2024 during a Brics summit in Russia’s Kazan. The formal meeting in October was the first time in five years.
The bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Xi came on the heels of New Delhi and Beijing reaching an agreement on patrolling arrangements in areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in 2020. The 3,488-km long LAC separates India and China from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The agreement covers the areas of Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.Visit amid trade tussle with the USPrime Minister Modi’s visit to China comes at a crucial juncture, as US President Donald Trump continues to threaten India with higher tariffs and penalties for purchasing Russian energy, a commodity imported in large quantities by both New Delhi and Beijing.Trump on Tuesday reiterated his warning that he will be raising tariff rates on India from the current 25 per cent. In an interview to CNBC, Trump said India is a ‘not a good’ trading partner. Trump reportedly said that he would raising tariffs on India in the next 24 hours. US has imposed a tariff rate of 25% on India which is supposed to be effective August 7, 2025. “India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25 percent but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil,” he said in the interview.“With India, what people don’t like to say is they have the highest tariffs of anybody. We do very little business with India,” Trump said. “India is not a good trading partner,” he added, before linking India’s continued energy trade with Moscow to the ongoing war in Ukraine: “They are buying Russian oil and fueling the Russian war machine.” He further indicated that India’s proposal for a ‘zero tariff’ on American imports was insufficient, whilst also asserting that India was “fuelling the war” in Ukraine.India’s strong response to Trump’s ‘unjustified’ tariffIndia pushed back against Trump’s threat to “substantially” raise tariffs on Indian goods over its continued oil imports from Russia, calling the targeting of India “unjustified and unreasonable.” In a sharply worded statement, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) defended India’s energy strategy, saying that its crude oil purchases from Russia are “a necessity compelled by global market conditions” and not a political endorsement of Moscow. “India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA said in a statement, while pointing out that the US and European Union have themselves continued trade with Russia, including in energy and critical commodities, despite publicly opposing the Ukraine conflict.The MEA also pointed out what it called “double standards,” noting that the EU’s trade with Russia in 2024 was significantly higher than India’s. EU imports of Russian LNG, for instance, hit a record 16.5 million tonnes. The US too, the statement said, continues to import uranium, palladium, and fertilisers from Russia.On Tuesday, Trump found himself in an embarrassing situation when, during a press conference at the White House, a reporter asked: “India says the US buys Russian uranium and fertilisers while criticising them for buying Russian energy. Your response to that?” Trump replied: “I don’t know anything about it. We will have to check.”NSA Ajit Doval in MoscowMeanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval reached Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks on strategic partnership, defence, and security cooperation between India and Russia.His visit comes as Trump continues to issue trade threats to countries closely aligned with Russia, including India. “The current escalation of the geopolitical situation will also be discussed. Apart from that, the topics will include such pressing matters as supplies of Russian oil [to India],” the source told TASS about the meeting.
