Following the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said that “peace and tranquility is a prerequisite” for the further development of India-China ties.
Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen on 5 September. This was the first time the two countries are holding a bilateral meet following the Doklam stand-off.
The two leaders had a “forward-looking” conversation, in a meeting that lasted an hour, said Jaishankar.
Bilateral discussion was constructive. Both countries agreed at the Astana Summit earlier this year that they will not let differences become disputes, which was reaffirmed.S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary
He added that issues of counter-terrorism were not discussed during the meeting.
There was a sense that if the relationship is to go forward, then peace and tranquility on border areas must be maintained. An important point made during the meeting was that peace and tranquility in the border area was the prerequisite for further development of the relationship.
Modi said he held “fruitful talks” with Xi, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
“Met President Xi Jinping. We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations between India and China,” the Prime Minister tweeted after his meeting.
After the BRICS Summit, Modi is scheduled to visit Myanmar for a bilateral dialogue between the countries.
‘China, India Development Opportunity for Each Other’
Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Xi stressed that the two countries are development opportunities for each other and not threats. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing on 5 September.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, Xi asserted that China and India should “jointly safeguard peace, tranquility” in border areas.
India and China are each other’s major neighbours, we are also two of the world’s largest and emerging countries. The two countries should work towards healthy, stable ties in line with fundamental interests of both.Chinese President Xi Jinping
He also reportedly called to push forward China-India ties on the “right track”.
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