Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of China, Xi Jinping today reaffirmed that India and China should take a strategic and long term perspective of their ties and that differences should not become disputes. During their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, the two leaders welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August last year.
Prime Minister Modi highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. He emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations. He underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border-related issues.
The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples. External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the two leaders took note of the progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility between the two countries.
On economic and trade relations, they underlined the need to address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access. The two leaders agreed that both sides must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues and in addressing challenges. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of BRICS countries.
