“The relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of foreign ministers and other officials will also be utilised to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a release following the meeting.
Positive Impact
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that the SRs on the IndiaChina boundary matter have a critical role to play in resolving the issue and maintaining peace along the border. He was speaking at a special briefing following the Modi-Xi meet at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
“Welcoming the recent agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 in the IndiaChina border areas, Prime Minister Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity,” the MEA said. “The two leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
Misri said, “We hope to schedule the next meeting of Special Representatives at an appropriate date.” The foreign secretary said that restoring peace along the border will create space for returning to the path of normalisation of ties. Officials will take the next steps to discuss enhancing strategic communications and stabilising bilateral relations by utilising official dialogue mechanisms, he added.
‘Peaceful, stable ties’
Modi and Xi agreed that India and China can have a “peaceful and stable” relationship by displaying maturity and mutual respect, and endorsed the agreement on patrolling that was announced on Monday. At the meeting, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes. In his opening remarks, Modi noted, “We believe that the importance of India-China relations is not just for our people. Our relations are also important for global peace, stability and progress. Mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutual sensitivity should continue to be the basis of our relations.”
When asked about the role played by Russia in achieving the thaw in ties, Misri said, “We are in Kazan, which is in Russia. And we thank Russia for providing the venue.” He added that Modi and Xi reviewed the state of bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective and they were of the view that stable ties between the two countries will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.
He said both leaders stressed that, with maturity and wisdom and by showing mutual respect, India and China can have a peaceful and stable relationship. The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as neighbours and the two most populous nations, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity. It will also contribute to a multipolar Asia and a multipolar world. The leaders underlined the need to make progress on bilateral relations from a strategic and longterm perspective, enhance strategic communications and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges, according to the MEA readout.
In the past four years, Modi and Xi had briefly met in Bali on the sidelines of a G20 dinner in 2022 and in August 2023 at the BRICS summit in South Africa. In 2023, during the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, a Modi-Xi structured dialogue could not be organised due to differences at the last minute ahead of any leader-level meeting. In 2018 and 2019, Modi and Xi had held two informal summits in China and India, respectively.
On Monday, Misri had announced a breakthrough in the relationship.
“Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums,” he had said. “As a result of the discussions that have taken place over the last several weeks, an agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border area and this is leading to disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday, “Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border. Now, the two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant matters.”
Indian and Chinese soldiers will be able to resume patrols as had been practiced before the border faceoff began in May 2020, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said at a media event on Monday. He said the LAC breakthrough is a good development that happened due to “patient and persevering diplomacy.”
ET was first to report that India-China ties have been marked by positivity over the past two weeks with forward movement in talks over friction points along the LAC in the Ladakh sector.
In September, India and China had agreed to “work with urgency and redouble their efforts” to realise complete disengagement in Ladakh along the LAC, as national security adviser Ajit Doval met Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Saint Petersburg at the BRICS meet and reviewed recent efforts to resolve lingering issues and pave the way for rebuilding bilateral ties.
This was preceded by two critical meetings between Jaishankar and Wang Yi in Astana and Vientiane, both in July. At both meetings, Jaishankar emphasised early disengagement for the overall health of ties.
In August, India and China, at the 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs held in Beijing, had decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in border areas in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understanding reached between the two governments.
