Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of a regional summit in Tianjin.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enhance cooperation and put aside the decades-long border disputes that soured relations between the two neighbors during a meeting on Aug. 31.
Analysts interpreted the move as part of Beijing's strategy to capitalize on New Delhi's grievances over U.S. tariffs in a bid to forge a united front against the United States, though they expected limited effects.
If India and China can view each other as "partners" rather than "rivals," the two countries' relationship could "flourish and move forward steadily," Xi was quoted as saying by the ministry.
Modi stressed "the need to proceed from a political and strategic direction to expand bilateral trade and investment ties," while addressing India's trade deficit with China, the Indian premier's office said.
Modi's visit indicates that New Delhi remains committed to its longstanding non-alignment diplomatic approach, a strategy that allows it to forge multiple partnerships without fully committing to any single bloc, according to Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taiwan government-funded think tank.
"India has historically maintained a non-aligned foreign policy, although it moved closer to the United States" in recent years, particularly during the Biden administration, which opened doors to more investment opportunities amid tensions with China over border disputes, Su told The Epoch Times.
China established the SCO in 2001 along with Russia and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- all former Soviet republics.
Through this year's SCO summit, China wants to strengthen cooperation with the Global South, bringing these countries into its orbit amidst the trade tensions with the United States, according to Shen Ming-Shih, a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The Chinese regime hopes to "capitalize" on these countries' complaints to U.S. tariffs and "rally them into forming an anti-Trump or anti-U.S. bloc," Shen told The Epoch Times.
"The primary goal is to use economic interests as a pretext to sow divisions between these [Global South] nations and the United States, and then leverage this opportunity to win them over and jointly counter the United States."
The SCO summit takes place just days before Beijing stages its military parade to mark the end of World War II. The regime is set to showcase its most advanced arms manufactured at home in the parade, while Xi is expected to deliver a speech from the rostrum of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing.
"Modi's message is carefully calibrated -- attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit but skipping the CCP's Sept. 3 ceremony, signalling that principal differences remain between New Delhi and the CCP," China expert Wang He told The Epoch Times. Therefore, Wang says he expects India to "pursue deeper strategic cooperation with the United States rather than aligning closely with China."
The bilateral meeting in Tianjin came two days after Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed to bolster cooperation in trade, military, and other areas between the two countries following their meetings in Tokyo.