Xi to Modi: don’t let the border dispute define China-India relations

Border issues should not be the defining factor in China-India ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, saying the relationship required a “strategic and long-term perspective”. Meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, Xi also told Modi that the two countries could be good neighbours and play a key part in the Global South, according to state news agency Xinhua. This is Modi’s first trip to China in seven years and it comes at a pivotal moment. Both countries are working to resolve long-standing disputes and find common ground as each feels strains in their relationship with the United States. Beijing is also using the summit as an opportunity to showcase its leadership and build solidarity with the Global South. During the one-hour meeting, Xi called for more communication to increase trust, and played up the prospects for stronger cooperation in economic and global affairs. We are “partners rather than rivals, which can offer development opportunities for each other rather than threats”, Xi said. “China and India are two of the most ‘civilisational’ countries. We are the world’s two most populous countries and part of the Global South … It is vital to be friends, a good neighbour, and [for] the ‘dragon’ and the ‘elephant’ to come together.” Relations between the two countries plunged after a deadly border clash in 2020, but Beijing and New Delhi have sought to mend fences in the past year, especially as both face stiff US tariffs. They have agreed to continue border negotiations, swiftly resume direct flights – suspended since early 2020 due to the pandemic – and to reopen border trade at three designated crossings. Indian media reports also said that Beijing had lifted restrictions on exports to India of rare earths – key elements in the China-US trade war. The talks between Xi and Modi are not expected to resolve many major disputes, but the presence of the Indian prime minister in the northern port city is a sign of a strategic rethink to deal with geopolitical vulnerabilities. In his opening remarks, Modi said both countries had been moving in “a positive direction” since last year. India and China were both pursuing strategic autonomy, and their relations “should not be seen through the lens of a third country”, Modi told Xi, according to the Indian foreign ministry. “We are committed to taking our relations forward on the basis of mutual trust, respect and sensitivity,” he said. Nevertheless, Modi will not join Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Beijing for a military parade on Wednesday to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. And India’s relationship with the US, as well as the close ties between China and Pakistan, could temper any improvements between New Delhi and Beijing. Washington has spent years courting New Delhi as a counterweight to Beijing, but those efforts have been undermined this year by the White House’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. The tariffs are meant to punish India for buying Russian oil but Delhi has shown little sign of budging on the purchases, vowing to protect its national interests and reaching out to other trading partners. Modi’s stop in China follows talks in Japan, where he and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba signed an economic security initiative for their countries to work together on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy and pharmaceuticals. Tokyo also pledged US$67 billion in new investment in India over the next decade and to transfer new Shinkansen “E10 series” high-speed train technology. In addition, the leaders renewed a 2008 security declaration aimed at keeping the Indo-Pacific free of regional threats, focusing on the management of technology on emerging fronts such as space and cybersecurity. India is set to host a Quad summit later this year, but reports indicate that US President Donald Trump will not be attending after all. US-India tensions began to emerge after Trump repeatedly claimed that he had “solved” the brief India-Pakistan military conflict in May. Delhi denies any third-party mediation. During the meeting on Sunday, Xi said China and India were at critical stages of development and the focus should be on “the greatest common denominator”. Xi also recalled a moment seven decades ago when the two countries agreed to the principle of peaceful coexistence, the cornerstone of China’s foreign policy. The principle “should be cherished and carried forward”, he said. “The two sides need to work together to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas and prevent border issues from defining the overall China-India relationship,” Xi said. “It is important that we demonstrate a sense of historical responsibility, uphold multilateralism, and enhance communication and coordination on major international and regional issues.”

Xi to Modi: don’t let the border dispute define China-India relations

The two countries are partners, not rivals, Chinese president says as US threats present the chance for a reset between the Asian giants