India is set to host SCO Summit this year which will give Indian Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping the opportunity of a bilateral meeting. At G20 Summit last year, both leaders shook hands and briefly exchanged courtesies after a formal dinner, without an official bilateral.
India froze high-level exchange after China chose to unilaterally alter status-quo at the Sino-Indo border with a brutal Galwan clash resulting in the death of 20 Indians and at least 4 Chinese troops the first fatalities along the LAC since 1975.
Chinese President was invited to SCO Summit by MEA in July which he said China would support. The Prime Minister of Pakistan is also invited. It is not confirmed whether they will attend as the summit date is yet to be finalized. India had first proposed the SCO summit in June, but New Delhi would want it postponed as PM Narendra Modi is traveling to the US for a state visit.
China continues to call parts of Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnam or South Tibet and makes repeated claims over its territory. The recent renaming exercise is also a continuation of that deceptive claim based on concocted maps. India has dismissed this signification exercise.
If the Chinese and Pakistan’s top leader decides to visit, it will present India with a tough domestic situation. PM Modi’s bilateral meeting with the Chinese or Pakistani leaders can be seen as a sign of weakness by the domestic public, but ignoring them will not be wise for the success of the Summit.
Diplomats will have to walk the tightrope while welcoming two adversaries. Last year, a group photo-op where PM Modi and President Xi Jinping were seen standing together was made a big issue by the Opposition. This year is also important because of the 2024 PM elections where the Opposition will not spare the BJP from the China issue.
Indian EAM S Jaishankar has already commented on this dilemma where he delinked the issue of ongoing border tensions with the visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Still, Indians are closely watching the developments with all eyes on PM Modi’s next move.
