Path of collaboration way forward to shared future

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 31 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin. This meeting, building on their successful dialogue in Kazan in 2024, represents an important moment for China-India relations, and comes at a significant time.

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Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, it presents a key opportunity for the two neighbours to shape their relations by forging a partnership embodying the SCO's spirit of mutual trust, equality and common development.

In the meeting, President Xi emphasised the importance of the two neighbours viewing their relationship through a strategic and long-term lens. Identifying China and India as partners rather than adversaries, he highlighted a vision of a “cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant” — advocating deeper trust, expanded cooperation and peaceful coexistence that benefit both nations and the Global South.

This perspective aligns with the SCO's mission to foster inclusive and equitable partnerships that prioritise development and stability over zero-sum competition.