NEW DELHI/BEIJING: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in their first formal discussions in five years on Wednesday, signaling a recovery in ties between the two nations that were strained by a deadly military clash in 2020.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan, just days after New Delhi announced a deal with Beijing to address the four-year military standoff along their Himalayan border. China and India have long been rivals, frequently accusing each other of attempting to encroach on territory along their unofficial border, known as the Line of Actual Control.
Following the border skirmish in 2020, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers, both countries withdrew tens of thousands of troops and agreed to refrain from patrols in a narrow area surrounding the Line of Actual Control.
The meeting between the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations comes after China’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that it had given “positive approval” to the border deal.
“Recently, China and India have maintained close communication through diplomatic and military channels regarding the border issues,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian during a regular briefing. “The two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant issues, and China gives its positive approval to this.”
Lin added that the next steps would involve properly implementing the resolution with India. His statement echoed one made by New Delhi’s foreign ministry, which confirmed an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control.
According to Indian foreign ministry bureaucrat Misri, this deal would facilitate “disengagement and eventually resolve the issues that arose in these areas in 2020.”
India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that disengagement with China was “complete,” with further details to be revealed “in due course.” He emphasized that the understanding “creates a basis for peace and tranquillity along the border, akin to the situation prior to 2020.”
Disputes over the 3,500-kilometer frontier have long been a source of tension between China and India, both major economies vying for strategic influence in South Asia.
