Modi-Xi meeting

THE informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg has been overshadowed by the two nations’ contrasting claims on which side sought the interaction. The Indian Government has refuted Beijing’s contention that the meeting happened at New Delhi’s behest, saying that a request from China to hold bilateral talks is ‘pending’.

Advertisement

In any case, an opportunity to hold a structured bilateral meeting to thoroughly discuss the thorny border issue seems to have been lost. Nevertheless, describing the conversation as ‘candid and in-depth’, the Chinese readout said, ‘President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves common interests of the two countries and their peoples.’ China has reiterated that both sides should consider the overall interests of their bilateral relations and ‘handle properly’ the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region. According to the Indian Government, PM Modi conveyed to Xi New Delhi’s concerns over the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, highlighting that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for the normalisation of India-China ties.

It’s clear that the two sides are sticking to their stands, with China keen to delink the border dispute from overall bilateral relations but India not ready to play ball. With President Xi expected to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi next month — it would be his first trip to India in almost four years — a formal meeting between him and PM Modi needs to be arranged. While 19 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China have been held over the past three years, the importance of a comprehensive interaction between the two leaders cannot be overstated. Moreover, Beijing needs to go beyond platitudes and make earnest efforts for expeditious disengagement and de-escalation at the border.