PM Modi, Xi Jinping set to come face-to-face at 3 different summits in November

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to meet thrice in November through virtual summits.

The summits that the leaders will be taking part in are; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads of State summit on November 10, the BRICS summit on November 17 and the G20 summit on November 21-22.

The BRICS and SCO grouping will be hosted by Russia while the G20 summit will be organised by Saudi Arabia. 

Both the leaders will together attend a summit for the first time amid rising border tensions between India and China. Both the countries are locked in a standoff at the Line of Actual Control since April. Several rounds of diplomatic and military talks have not yielded results in scaling down tensions. In fact, both the countries have made heavy deployment of troops along the LAC in Ladakh, the main friction point. 

In the past, high-level engagements between India and China have taken place on the sidelines of such summits. In fact, it had become a norm for both the leaders to meet on the sidelines of such major meetings. But after the border dispute that emerged in April both the leaders have maintained a distance. 

This is for the first time that the summits will happen virtually. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia had virtually hosted the summit of G20 leaders to discuss the strategy of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Both, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi were present in the meet but relations were not bad.

Other than SCO, BRICS and G20 summit the ASEAN virtual summit is also going to take place from November 13-15 while the SCO heads of government will meet on November 30.

Vietnam will host the ASEAN summit while SCO Heads of Governments will be hosted by New Delhi. Going by the protocol, Pakistan will also be invited by India at the SCO Heads meet.