Unlike Modi, who has travelled abroad for several multilateral and bilateral meetings this year, Xi has not stepped out of China since January 2020. However, according to a report in Wall Street Journal on Friday, Xi could travel to Samarkand for the meeting of the regional security bloc and have a bilateral with Putin in the middle of increasing tensions with the US over Taiwan.
The report, which quoted people involved in organising the summit, also said Xi could have similar meetings with the leaders of India and Pakistan. It, however, added that Xi’s travel plans remained in flux and that he could still choose to participate virtually.
According to diplomatic sources, Putin is keen on an in-person summit in Samarkand that will focus, among other things, on the security and human rights situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif is expected to travel to Uzbekistan for the summit.
If all leaders do participate in person, Modi will almost certainly have a bilateral meeting with Putin and possibly with Xi too. While the border disengagement process with China in eastern Ladakh is still not complete, both sides agree that the military standoff, which started in May 2020, has been resolved at many friction points. That there has been progress in military and diplomatic talks was evident from India’s decision to host Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in March this year and also the Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan recently. Both meetings were proposed by the Chinese side.
China’s decision to twice block a UN ban on Pakistan-based and India-focused terrorists has not gone down well with India and will weigh on the minds of Indian authorities while preparing for the possible summit meeting with Xi. Terrorism is going to be among the major issues that Modi will look to address during the SCO summit and, like he did at the virtual Brics summit in June, call for member-states to respect each other’s security concerns. At the Brics meeting, Modi had also called for mutual support in efforts to designate terrorists.