New Delhi: At the invitation of the President of China, Prime Minister is on a visit to China from 31 August to 1 September to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin. On the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister holds bilateral meetings with several leaders attending the Summit.India has been a member of SCO since 2017. It held the presidency of the Council of Heads of State of SCO during 2022-23.

Modi, who is on his first visit to China in 7 years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, met Xi for the second time since the two sides reached an understanding last October.

“Last year, we had very meaningful discussions in Kazan, our relations got a positive direction,” Modi said at the start of his meeting with Xi, referring to their previous meeting in the Russian city, two days after the understanding on disengaging forces at the LAC.

“After disengagement on the border, an atmosphere of peace and stability was created. There has been consent between our Special Representatives on the issue of border management,” he said.

“We are committed to take forward our relations on the basis of mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity,” he added.

PM noted that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to the Tibet region has been resumed and that direct flights between the two countries will be started again. Cooperation between India and China has benefited the 2.8 billion people of the two countries and advanced the welfare of humanity, Modi said.

The meeting between the two leaders lasted about an hour, officials said.