India and China Take Steps Towards Healing Rift in Bilateral Ties
In a significant move towards improving their strained relationship, India and China have agreed to work together to strengthen bilateral ties. The agreement comes after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia, marking their first formal meeting in five years.
The talks, which took place on Wednesday, signalled a potential thaw in relations between the two nations, which have been tense since clashes along their contested border in 2020. The meeting was a crucial step towards healing the rift, with both leaders emphasizing the importance of mutual trust and cooperation.
According to Chinese state media, President Xi told Prime Minister Modi that China and India should strengthen their cooperation, as it is in the fundamental interests of both countries and their people. Xi also emphasized the need for the two nations to work together to achieve their development dreams and contribute to a multi-polar world.
“We should strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle divergences and differences, and realize each other’s development dreams,” Xi said, as quoted by state broadcaster CCTV.
Prime Minister Modi welcomed the “consensus” over the border contestations and emphasized the importance of mutual trust in guiding ties with China. “India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability,” Modi said. “Mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations.”
The relationship between India and China has been strained since a skirmish along their contested frontier in the high-altitude Himalayan region of Ladakh in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. However, since then, both sides have pulled back tens of thousands of troops and agreed not to send patrols into a narrow dividing strip.
In a positive development, India announced on Monday that it had reached an agreement with China on patrolling arrangements, easing the military standoff. The agreement marks a significant step towards reducing tensions between the two nations and paves the way for further cooperation in the future.
As the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations, Xi and Modi have met briefly on the sidelines of international summits in recent years, but their face-to-face formal talks on Wednesday were a crucial step towards healing the rift in bilateral ties. The meeting has raised hopes for a more positive and cooperative relationship between India and China, which could have significant implications for regional and global peace and stability.
