Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was committed to improving ties with Beijing in a key meeting with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional security forum on Aug 31, Reuters reported.

Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders from Central, South and South-east Asia and the Middle East in a show of Global South solidarity.

"We are committed to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivities," Mr Modi told Mr Xi during the meeting, according to a video clip posted on the Indian leader's official X account, according to Reuters.