Fact Check: Xi Jinping refuses handshake with PM Modi during SCO summit? No, here are the facts
A video has been circulating online, claiming that Xi Jinping refused a handshake with PM Modi during the SCO summit.
By Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows Chinese President Xi Jinping refusing to shake hands with PM Modi during the SCO summit in Tianjin, China.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is edited and is from the October 2024 BRICS summit. The leaders of the two nations shook hands both during the 2024 BRICS and the 2025 SCO summit.
Hyderabad: The 2025 SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Summit was held from August 31 to September 1 in China’s Tianjin, marking the 25th Heads of State Council meeting.
The summit brought together about 20 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasising the SCO’s ‘greater responsibility’ for maintaining regional peace and stability.
In this context, a video showing PM Modi extending his arm before immediately withdrawing it, while Xi Jinping gestures toward the centre stage, has been widely circulating on social media. Those sharing the video claim that Xi Jinping refused to shake hands with Modi during the 2025 Tianjin SCO Summit.
An X user shared the video with the caption, “When IT cell & Godi media use lies & falsehood to spread ‘vishwaguru’ fakery, when they construct and show shameless pathetic ‘Modi Modi’ narratives, it becomes imperative to show them the mirror. Watch how Xi ignored Modi’s extended hand for a handshake..Watch this and shut the eff up, stop the clown show and allow Modi to do whatever damage control he can. (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral clip is edited and is from the October 2024 BRICS summit, not the SCO summit in Tianjin. The unedited version of the video shows the leaders of the two nations shaking hands.
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to the unedited and extended version published by ANI on October 23, 2024, titled “‘Historic handshake': PM Modi holds meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at BRICS Summit.”
The full footage clearly shows Xi Jinping and Modi exchanging handshakes on the centre stage. The video shows the part where Xi Jinping gestures PM Modi towards the flags of both countries, in front of which the two leaders exchange a handshake. The viral clip doesn’t show the handshake, but just Xi Jinping’s gesture, making it look like he denied a handshake with PM Modi.
What was discussed during the BRICS Summit?
According to the news agency, the PM held a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. This meeting in Tatarstan’s capital represented the first formal diplomatic engagement between the two leaders in five years, occurring after both nations reached an agreement to resume regular patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
Did the handshake happen between PM Modi and Jinping at the 2025 SCO summit?
Russian media outlet, RT India, shared a video on August 31, captioned, ‘Historic Handshake: PM Modi & President Xi Greet Each Other Ahead Of #SCO2025.’
The video shows Modi shaking hands with Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.
Hence, we conclude that the claim that Xinping refused to shake Modi during the SCO summit is false.
