NEW DELHI: Sino-Indian ties are set for a reboot, following the Modi-Xi meeting in Kazan last year and the subsequent visits to Beijing by NSA Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Vikram Misri that resulted in a series of “common understandings on the boundary question and practical cooperation”, said Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong on Tuesday.
The remarks followed the recent meeting of external affairs minister S Jaishankar with his counterpart Wang Yi in which the former had lauded cooperation between the two countries on multilateral forums, particularly the G20. Doval had visited China in Dec for talks between the Special Representatives that took place after a gap of five years. This was followed by Misri’s visit to China during which India and China agreed to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, trans-border river cooperation and, in principle, direct air services.
“Since the meeting between President Xi Jinping and PM Modi in Kazan last year, the two sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by the two leaders, engaged in active interactions at various levels, and reached many common understandings on improving bilateral relations,” said Xu, interacting with journalists on the margins the 3rd China-India Youth Dialogue. Calling India-China relationship one of the most important in the world, the ambassador said that the two countries are promoting positive changes in the international balance of power.
For the first time in five years, Modi and Xi had met in Russia in Oct 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, days after the two countries reached an agreement to complete the military disengagement process in eastern Ladakh. India, however, wants to tread cautiously in normalising ties with China and, in his meeting with Wang last week, Jaishankar stressed the importance of restoring mutual trust in bilateral ties and jointly maintaining border peace.
Calling for respecting each other’s core interests, Xu said that Xi and Modi had agreed to handle relations from a long-term perspective, prevent “specific disagreements” from affecting the overall relationship, enhance strategic mutual trust and ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
China will host the SCO summit later this year and expects Modi to participate. Appreciating India’s contribution to the Eurasian bloc, Xu said China is willing to work with India to host a “friendly, united and fruitful” summit. China holds the rotating presidency of SCO this year.
According to the ambassador, the recent high-level engagements had created an important opportunity for the “reboot of China-India relations and provided a broader platform for exchanges and cooperation between the youth of our two countries”.
