New Delhi: Peace and stability have been “created” at the border following disengagement between India and China last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China Sunday.
“Last year in Kazan, we had very fruitful discussions which gave a positive direction to our relations. After the disengagement on the border, an atmosphere of peace and stability has been created. An agreement has been reached between our special representatives regarding border management,” Modi said in his opening remarks.
“The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been resumed. Direct flights between the two countries are also being resumed. The interests of 2.8 billion people of both countries are linked to our cooperation. This will also pave the way for the welfare of the entire humanity.”
Modi is in the Chinese city of Tianjin for a two-day visit from 31 August till 1 September to attend the Heads of State summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He held a roughly 45-minute meeting with Xi Sunday morning.
It is Modi’s first meeting with Xi in China in seven years. The PM had last travelled to China for the SCO summit in 2018. The bilateral meeting between the two leaders comes after a thaw in India-China relations over the last few months. The meeting also comes as ties between India and the US have hit a rough patch.
Modi had last met Xi on the margins of the BRICS leaders’ summit in the Russian city of Kazan on 23 October, 2024. India-China relations had cratered in 2020 as tensions built across friction points in eastern Ladakh in the summer months. The two militaries eventually clashed at Galwan.
The tensions led to large deployments of military personnel and platforms to the region, as diplomatic ties came to a stand-still. However, on 21 October, 2024, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that the two countries had reached an agreement to disengage at friction points across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This paved the way for the Modi-Xi meeting in Russia. Eventually, the other bilateral mechanisms existing between the two countries were engaged, including the Special Representative (SR) mechanism.
In the last round of SR-level negotiations in New Delhi earlier this month, the two SRs, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, agreed to return to the 2005 agreement to find a resolution to the boundary question.
Apart from the bilateral with Xi, Modi is expected to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and likely with one other leader. The PM will attend the SCO Summit Monday before returning to India.
The India-China thaw comes amid tensions between New Delhi and Washington. On 27 August, 50% tariffs on Indian goods entering the US kicked in, after they were imposed by US President Donald Trump for India’s alleged unfair trade and continued purchase of Russian oil. The 50% tariff on India is one of the highest among all of the US’ trade partners.
India and the US are also negotiating a bilateral trade deal following Modi’s visit to Washington this February. However, the two countries have been unable to conclude the agreement as the US has been pushing for greater access to India’s agricultural and dairy sectors. Modi and Trump have reportedly not spoken to one another since 17 June this year.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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