Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have pledged to strengthen strategic ties as the countries face significant tariffs on exports to the U.S.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, Xi said the two nations were among the world’s most “civilizational,” according to a translation by the South China Morning Post.
“It is vital to be friends, a good neighbor, and [for] the ‘dragon’ and the ‘elephant’ to come together,” Xi told Modi, according to a South China Morning Post translation, during a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that began in Tianjin on Sunday.
In footage of a meeting between the pair posted to Modi’s official YouTube account, Xi called the current global situation as “fluid and chaotic,” and urged a “steady” development of bilateral ties and increased commitment to multilateralism.
Modi, meanwhile, said India was “committed to progressing” the relationship with China, one he said should be based on “mutual respect, trust and sensitivities,” Reuters reports.
The Indian prime minister’s visit to China is his first in seven years, and comes days after President Donald Trump‘s new, 50 percent tariff on Indian goods came into effect. The U.S. had intended to impose a 25 percent tariff on India’s exports, but later doubled this over the country’s continued purchases of Russian energy exports.
Sharing my remarks during meeting with President Xi Jinping. https://t.co/pw1OAMBWdc
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 31, 2025
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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