Aug. 31 (UPI) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that the world’s two largest economies should be “partners and not rivals” as Russian President Vladimir Putin made his way to a summit in the city of Tianjin with the leaders.

Meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Modi and Xi “noted the need” to strengthen ties between their populations by resuming direct flights and tourist visa approvals, India’s Press Information Bureau said in a statement.

Flights between the countries have been paused since deadly clashes between their troops in the Himalayas in 2020 over a longstanding border dispute. The visit marks Modi’s first trip to China in seven years, though the pair met in Kazan in 2024, which Xi praised Sunday as the “restart of China-India relations.”

“India is willing to work with China to seek a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the border issue,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in its own statement Sunday. China noted that the border remains “peaceful and stable,” but no timeline was given for when the flights might resume.

Modi noted that India and China both pursue strategic autonomy, and their relations “should not be seen through a third country lens,” India’s statement said. China echoed that sentiment, stating that “bilateral relations will not be influenced by third parties.”

“The two leaders deemed it necessary to expand common ground on bilateral, regional, and global issues and challenges, like terrorism and fair trade in multilateral platforms,” India’s statement reads.

Essentially, the Indian government expressed that India and China are seeking non-U.S.-centric alignment on their shared interests in a “multi-polar” world,” despite their differences in other areas. China’s Foreign Ministry further highlighted their roles as important members of the “Global South.”

“China and India, two ancient Eastern civilizations, are the world’s two most populous countries, and important members of the Global South,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting. “Being good-neighborly friends and partners for mutual success and achieving a ‘Dancing of the Dragon and the Elephant’ should be the right choice for both China and India.”

The summit comes after President Donald Trump placed stiff sanctions on India for continuing to buy Russian oil as Russia faces the threat of U.S. sanctions for the war in Ukraine. Putin is also seeking to project a united front with India and China as internal tension in his country over the cost of the war grows.

Russia’s economy has been under growing strain as inflation, currently hovering around 9%, continues to bite, having been fueled by Putin’s wartime expenditures and the ongoing effects of Western sanctions.

On July 25, the Bank of Russia lowered its main interest rate by 2 percentage points, bringing it down to 18% per year, because inflation is easing faster than expected and the economy is gradually stabilizing with price growth slowing significantly earlier in the year, it said in a press release.

The bank said, however, that monetary policy will stay tight for a while. On average, the central bank expects interest rates to stay between 18.8% and 19.6% for 2025, then ease to about 13% in 2026 to make sure inflation continues to fall to its official 4% target by 2026.

Russian economists believe the country can sustain its war efforts for another year or so but new sanctions from the Trump administration, like those on India, could hurt Putin’s war effort.

Other members of the summit include Pakistan and Iran. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also met with Xi ahead of the summit and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is also expected to attend.