PM Modi and Xi Jinping hold first bilateral in 5 years days after border accord – Firstpost

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (October 23) on the sidelines of the Brics Summit in Russia.

Chinese state media CCTV reported that Jinping told Prime Minister Modi that China and India should strengthen their cooperation as they met on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in Russia, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.

“The two sides should strengthen communication and cooperation, properly manage divergences and differences, and realize each other’s development dreams,” he said.

This is the first meeting between Modi and Xi in the last five years. After the Chinese aggression in early 2020 that triggered the years-long military standoff in Ladakh, India-China relations fell to their worst state since 1962, when China invaded and defeated India in a brief war

Modi and Xi meet after reaching an agreement on the withdrawal of troops deployed in Ladakh and the resumption of patrols as they were before the standoff began.

For years, the Modi government tried to stabilize the relationship with China. Two notable summits were also held in Wuhan, China and Mahabalipuram, India. However, China never stopped the incursions, whether in Ladakh on the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) of the de facto border or on the eastern sector. In 2017, China triggered a months-long standoff at the India-Bhutan-China junction.

Although these episodes continued and were resolved over time, the Chinese aggression of 2020 was much greater. India and China deployed several thousands of troops along with war equipment like tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, warplanes, etc. While China insisted that border tensions should not affect the broader bilateral relationship, India asserted that border peace and tranquility is the foundation of the broader bilateral relationship.

In recent months, there have been a series of high-level meetings between India and China that have fueled speculation that an agreement on the Ladakh standoff may be in the offing, and following the finalization of that agreement, the leaders of two countries may have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia.