Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi meet, 2 days after a China-India border deal
China and India should manage their differences properly, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, in their first meeting since the bilateral relationship was badly strained by a deadly border clash four years ago.
“It is important for both sides to have more communication and cooperation, properly handle differences and disagreements, and facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations,” Xi told Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia.
“It is also important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibilities, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and contribute to promoting multi-polarisation and democracy in international relations,” he said.
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In a post on his X account after the meeting, Modi wrote that India-China relations were “important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability”.
“Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” he said.
Met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Kazan BRICS Summit. India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations. pic.twitter.com/tXfudhAU4b
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 23, 2024
The meeting came two days after the announcement that China and India had reached an agreement on patrolling their shared Himalayan border, where the two sides had a deadly clash in June 2020, de-escalating a four-year military stand-off.
“The two leaders welcomed the agreement reached between the two sides through sustained dialogue over the last several weeks in diplomatic as well as military channels,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a statement.
“PM Modi underscored the importance of not allowing differences on boundary-related matters to disturb peace and tranquillity on our borders.
“The two leaders noted that the special representatives on the India-China boundary question have a critical role to play in the resolution of the boundary question and for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”
Brics – the economic association named after the founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China plus South Africa – has been on an expansion path, with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joining the bloc this year.
