China says meeting between Xi and Modi reaffirms impulse of relations

Chinese Foreign Minister Guo Jiakun said at a press conference that Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi met three times in the last three years, in addition to New Delhi, Tianjin (2025) and Kazan (2024), marking “a new starting point and a new direction for Sino-Indian relations”.

Guo indicated that the two leaders agreed that, as the world’s most populous countries and important members of the Global South, they should “focus on development as the largest common denominator, strengthen exchanges of friendship and cooperation of mutual benefit and improve the basis of public opinion supporting the bilateral relationship.”.

The spokesman also said that Xi and Modi agreed to “balance” their economic and trade concerns and to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area they share in the Himalayas.

In 2020, a military confrontation in the Galwan Valley caused deaths among soldiers from both countries and triggered the worst diplomatic crisis between Beijing and New Delhi in decades.

The meeting took place less than three weeks after special representatives from the two countries held a new round of border negotiations in Beijing and agreed to open two additional military channels and strengthen cooperation in border trade and cross-border rivers.

“The improvement and development of Sino-Indian relations are not only welcomed by the more than 2,800 million inhabitants of both countries, but also respond to the need to strengthen the cooperation of the Global South,” Guo said.

According to the spokesman, Xi defended during the meeting that the two countries should guide bilateral relations with an “objective and rational strategic understanding” and “help each other achieve success through a philosophy of mutual benefit cooperation”.

Despite the gradual improvement in relations, including the re-establishment of direct flights and the relaxation of visas, both countries maintain high military contingents along the Himalayas control line, while India maintains restrictions on Chinese investments.

After India this year, China will assume in 2027 the presidency of BRICS, a bloc that integrates Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.