Indian premier to pay 1st visit to China in 7 years

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China later this month, according to an official statement from the Indian government, marking Modi's first trip to his country's northern neighbor in seven years.

At the invitation of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Modi will travel to China from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday evening.

Modi last visited China in 2018.

Established in 2001, the SCO is an inter-governmental organization comprising 10 member states-China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.

China is the current chair of the bloc.

The Indian ministry statement said Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders attending the Summit.

The expected visit comes as New Delhi and Beijing have taken steps to normalize ties after tensions escalated in 2020 when deadly clashes along the disputed border in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens last month, marking the first time since 2020 that India has reopened tourist visa applications for Chinese nationals.

Before flying to China, in the first leg, Modi will visit Japan on Aug. 29-30 to attend the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit, the statement said.