Indian Premier Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years: Report

ANKARA

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China later this month, which would be his first trip to his northern neighbor in seven years, if confirmed, the Press Trust of India reported.

Modi will attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as China is the bloc's current chair.

There was no official confirmation about the visit from New Delhi or Beijing.

Modi will embark on a visit to Japan around Aug. 29 before flying to the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.

He last visited China in 2018.

The expected visit comes as New Delhi and Beijing have taken steps to normalize ties after tensions escalated in 2020 when deadly clashes along the disputed border in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens last month, marking the first time since 2020 that India has reopened tourist visa applications for Chinese nationals.

Established in 2001, the SCO is an inter-governmental organization comprising 10 member states -- China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.