Awkward meets, many firsts at SCO event , Pg11

Key Highlights:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
• This visit marks Modi's first trip to China in seven years and the first bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping since the Galwan clashes.
• Modi will meet Shahbaz Sharif for the first time since the Pahalgam terror attacks and Operation Sindoor.
• Discussions will likely address U.S. sanctions on India for importing Russian oil and the Ukraine conflict.

Detailed Insights:

• The Xi-Modi meeting aims to further the “normalization process” initiated in Kazan in October 2024, focusing on troop demobilization at the LAC and resuming direct flights.
• India seeks the removal of Chinese export restrictions on critical minerals, while China wants India to scrap restrictions on FDI via Press Note 3.
• Modi's talks with Putin will address U.S. actions, the Ukraine peace process, and Putin's upcoming visit to Delhi in December.
• At the SCO Summit, Modi is expected to raise the issue of cross-border terrorism, pushing for stronger references in the declaration.
• A meeting with Nepal's Prime Minister will be closely watched due to the dispute over the reopening of the India-China border trade at Lipulekh.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Line of Actual Control (LAC): The de facto border between India and China.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): An investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
• Cross-border terrorism: Terrorist acts that are planned, directed, and executed across national borders.