New Delhi: The interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg was facilitated at India’s request, the Chinese foreign ministry has claimed.
“President Xi Jinping talked with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at the latter’s request on August 23, 2023. The two leaders had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest,” the Chinese foreign ministry said Friday in response to a question about reports of the two leaders holding a ‘bilateral meeting’.
President Xi, it said, “stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region”.
The Chinese foreign ministry added that the “two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region”.
While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is yet to make an official comment, sources in the ministry told ThePrint that “there was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting”. The two leaders “had an informal conversation in the leaders’ lounge” on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, sources added.
PM Modi held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit, at the end of which South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that six countries, namely Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will become a part of the bloc from 1 January 2024.
The Prime Minister held bilateral talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, President Macky Sall of Senegal, Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi of and President Ramaphosa of South Africa on issues ranging from energy, trade, defence, pharmaceuticals, among others.
That PM Modi had an interaction with President Xi of China in Johannesburg was first revealed by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra during a press briefing Thursday.
“In a conversation with Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the Western sector in the India-China border areas,” Kwatra said. He added that, during the interaction with President Xi of China, PM Modi “underlined that the maintenance of peace in border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship”.
The Foreign Secretary also noted “…the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”.
This was the second such instance of the two sides making differing claims about a meeting between PM Modi and President Xi.
As reported by ThePrint earlier, China had claimed last month that two leaders reached a “consensus” on stabilising bilateral ties during the G20 meeting in Bali last November.
The statement was part of a press release on the interaction between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the meeting of BRICS NSAs in Johannesburg on 24 July.
The MEA later confirmed that PM Modi and President Xi had discussed the border standoff in eastern Ladakh during a Summit dinner hosted by the Indonesian president.
India-China ties have been strained since clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. The two sides have so far held 19 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks to discuss disengagement at remaining friction points in the region.
During the 19th round of talks held earlier this month, India reiterated its position on disengagement in Depsang Plains and its right to patrol traditional patrolling points (PPs).
“The two sides had a positive, constructive and in-depth discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector,” read a joint statement issued after the conclusion of the talks.
In December last year, Indian soldiers and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had also clashed in the Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector, where over 200 Chinese troops armed with spiked clubs, taser guns and more clashed with Indian soldiers.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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