Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-nation visit to Japan and China from August 29 (Friday) to September 1 (Monday), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced. At the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Modi will be in Japan from August 29–30 to take part in the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit. This visit will mark Modi’s eighth trip to Japan but his first summit meeting with Ishiba.
The two leaders will review the Special Strategic and Global Partnership, with discussions spanning defence and security cooperation, trade and investment, emerging technologies, clean energy, and cultural exchanges. Regional and global issues, including Indo-Pacific stability, are also expected to feature high on the agenda.
2nd leg: China, August 31–September 1
From August 31–September 1, Modi will travel to Tianjin, China, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. On the sidelines, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with leaders of SCO member nations. India has been a member of the SCO since 2017 and held the presidency in 2022–23. The MEA said Modi’s participation reaffirms India’s active role in shaping the forum’s regional security and economic agenda.
Recent diplomacy with China
The visit comes on the heels of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s official trip to India (August 18–19). Wang met Prime Minister Modi, conveying a personal message and formal invitation from President Xi. He also held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and co-chaired the 24th Special Representatives’ meeting on the boundary issue with NSA Ajit Doval.
The Prime Minister, in his meeting with Wang Yi, emphasised the need to maintain peace and stability along the border and reiterated India’s commitment to finding a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution” of the boundary question. He thanked President Xi for the invitation and expressed support for China’s presidency of the SCO.
Significance of the tour
According to the PMO, Modi underlined that stable, constructive ties between India and China, alongside deeper India–Japan cooperation, will be pivotal for regional and global peace and prosperity. The trip is being closely watched as it comes at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments in Asia, with Tokyo and Beijing both central to India’s long-term strategic calculus.
