Tianjin, China: The process of rebuilding ties between India and China acquired a fresh momentum on a gentle Sunday afternoon in the port city of Tianjin, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinpijng pledging their commitment to advance rapprochement between the two Asian neighbours.
The gestures and body language of the two leaders as they sat down for their first talks since the thaw in Kazan reflected mutual desire to forge harmonious relations based on mutual respect and mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns.
Xi Jinping struck an optimistic note as underlined that re-engaging each other is the right choice for the two neighbours. “It is the right choice for both sides to be friends who have good neighbourly and amicable ties, partners who enable each other’s success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together,” said Mr Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades.
Thanking Xi for warm welcome on his first visit to China in seven years, Mr Modi said: “We are committed to taking our relations forward on the basis of mutual trust and respect.” The Indian leader also expressed satisfaction that peace has prevailed on the border since a patrolling agreement was finalised in October 2024 and his last meeting with President Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
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ssues relating to border peace, de-induction of troops, forging balanced trade ties and bolstering people-to-people contacts figured prominently in discussions between the two leaders.
Unlike informal summits between the two leaders in Wuhan and Mahabalipuram in 2018 and 2019, before the relations went downhill after Galwan clashes, there was a mood of cautious optimism and realism in Tianjin as the two leaders decided to adopt an incremental approach to improving bilateral relations. The talks culminated in a shared understanding that sustaining peace and tranquillity on the border will be central to harmonious relations between India and China.
While some cynics see the meeting in Tianjin as mere optics, the talks were constructive and forward-looking, with a clear intent by both leaders that the two countries need to find a modus vivendi to peacefully coexist and flourish.
Ahead of PM Modi’s visit to China, Special Representatives of India and China, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held talks in New Delhi on August 19 and unveiled a series of border-related confidence-building measures that will help maintain peace on the border.
The talks culminated in setting up of three mechanisms for maintaining peace in India-China border areas. The most important of these is the setting up of an Expert Group, under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), to explore Early Harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas. The two sides also decided to set up a Working Group, under the WMCC, to advance effective border management and agreed to create General- Level Mechanisms in Eastern and Middle Sectors, in addition to the existing General Level Mechanism in Western Sector.
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Manish Chand is in Tianjin to report on and analyse the SCO summit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China).
Author Profile
- Manish Chand is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) and India and World, a pioneering magazine focused on international affairs. He is CEO, Centre for Global India Insights, an India-based think tank focused on global affairs.
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