Improving India-China relations serves common interests: President Xi to PM Modi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 25, 2023: China on Thursday released a statement on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bilateral talks held on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, saying India-China relations were discussed in the meeting.

 

Reacting to the bilateral exchange between China and India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Xi Jinping and PM Modi had a “candid and in-depth exchange of views” on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest.

“President Xi 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 statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson read.

The official statement added that the two countries should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle the border issue properly so as to “jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were seen walking side by side and having a brief conversation on Thursday as they shared the stage in South Africa during the BRICS summit.

During the brief meeting, PM Modi conveyed to Xi Jinping India’s concerns about the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China border areas, said India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

The meeting comes less than two weeks from the G20 summit which will be held in New Delhi.

This is the second such informal interaction between the two leaders since the Galwan clashes of May 2020. In November 2022, during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the two leaders had a similar interaction where PM Modi exchanged courtesies with Chinese President Xi Jinping and spoke about the need to “stabilise” bilateral relations.

Courtesy: India Today