A day after the landmark bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, China on Thursday said it carried a “great significance” as they reached “important common understandings” to improve bilateral ties.

“They reached important common understandings on improving and developing China-India relations and set the course to steer bilateral relations back on the path of steady development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing, news agency PTI reported.

Lin further said China “stands ready to work with India to view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective.”

He added that China is ready to enhance communication and cooperation, as well as strategic mutual trust, along with handling differences properly and ensuring that bilateral ties are brought back to the path of steady development as soon as possible.

Modi PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on Wednesday. (AP Photo)

“They agreed to view and handle China-India relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship, and contribute to maintaining regional and global peace and prosperity and to advancing multiplicity in the world,” Lin also said.

Festive offer

The spokesperson added that Modi and Xi have agreed to “make good use of the Special Representatives mechanism on the China-India boundary issue, ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, find a fair and reasonable settlement, step up communication and cooperation in multilateral fora, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.”

What Modi and Xi discussed in Kazan

At their meeting In Kazan, Modi and Xi underlined that “maintaining peace on border should be our priority” and “mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should be the basis of our ties”. This discussion is the first sign of thawing of bilateral ties frozen ever since Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh in April 2020 triggered a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control.

While both the leaders emphasized the “importance of properly handling differences and disputes”, Xi also called for “more communication and cooperation” and said “people in our two countries and the international community are paying great attention to our meeting”.

At the start of the meeting, Modi said, “We welcome the agreements that we have reached across the border. Maintaining peace and tranquility over the border should remain our priority, and mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of our relationship. I am confident that we will hold talks with an open heart and our discussions will be constructive.”

Xi, on his turn, said, “Mr Prime Minister, it’s my great pleasure to meet you in Kazan. It’s the first time for us to have a formal meeting in five years’ time. Both, the people in our two countries and the international community, are paying great attention to our meeting. China and India are both ancient civilizations, major developing countries, and important members of the Global South. We are both at a crucial phase in our respective modernization endeavours.”

“It best serves the fundamental interests of our two countries… For both sides, to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of our bilateral relations, it’s important for both sides to have more communication and cooperation, properly handle differences and disagreements, and to facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations. It’s also important for both sides to shoulder our international responsibility, set an example for boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and to contribute to promoting multi-polarisation and democracy in international relations,” he added.