PM Modi’s last formal bilateral meet with Xi Jinping was in October 2019 in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu months before the June 2020 clashes in Galwan…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The meeting marks the first formal structured interaction between the two leaders in five years and follows the two countries reaching an agreement on resuming regular patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
PM Modi’s last formal bilateral meet with Xi Jinping was in October 2019 in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu months before the June 2020 clashes in Galwan that led to a military standoff. The two leaders met briefly during the Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia in 2022 and then in Johannesburg, South Africa (2023).
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on October 21 that an agreement had been reached regarding patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told media persons that the agreement “is the outcome of extensive discussions over the past several weeks with Chinese interlocutors at both diplomatic and military levels.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, in a regular press briefing, said, “We have reached a resolution on the relevant matter, will work with the Indian side to implement the resolution. We are in close communication through diplomatic and military channels.”
The highly-anticipated meeting between PM Modi and President Xi is a pivotal moment in India-China relations.
The border standoff between India and China began in eastern Ladakh along the LAC in 2020, sparked by Chinese military actions. This incident led to prolonged tensions between the two nations, significantly straining their relations.
Leaders welcome patrolling agreement
Modi and Xi Jinping welcomed the agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and agreed that the Special Representatives will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who addressed a media briefing on PM Modi’s visit to Russia for the BRICS meeting, said PM Modi underscored the importance of not allowing differences on boundary-related matters to disturb peace and tranquillity on borders.
He said the two leaders have given instructions for various official and other bilateral mechanisms between the two countries to be activated.
“PM Modi met with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit. This was their first proper bilateral meeting at delegation level in nearly 5 years, the last one being on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brasilia in 2019. This meeting happened close on the heels of the disengagement and patrolling agreement and the resolution of issues that had arisen in the India-China border areas in 2020,” he said.
“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. 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,” he added.
Modi welcomed the recent agreement “for complete disengagement and resolution of issues” that arose in 2020 in the India-China border areas and underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility.
“The two leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question,” a PMO release said.
The relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of Foreign Ministers and other officials will also be utilized to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations, it added.
The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbours and the two largest nations on earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.
“It will also contribute to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world. The leaders underlined the need to progress bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges,” the release said. (ANI)
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