Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for improving connectivity at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, he maintained a safe distance from Xi Jinping, the President of India’s northern neighbour China.

PM Modi and President Jinping shared the world stage for the first time after clashes in the Galwan Valley. The tension along the Indo-China border was evident from the distance that the two leaders maintained from each other at the summit.

PM Modi is said to have missed the dinner meeting on Thursday evening and arrived just in time on Friday for the annual summit. During a photo-op, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping stood side by side but did not exchange smiles or shake hands.

PM Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attended the SCO and deliberated on the regional security situation and ways to enhance trade and connectivity at the annual summit of the grouping.