China sought PM-Xi meet, not us: India

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, August 25

China has said its President Xi Jinping and PM Narendra Modi had a “candid and in-depth exchange” of views on current China-India ties and other issues of shared interest. The two sides indulged in diplomatic sparring after the Chinese claimed that PM Modi had sought a meeting with Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Diplomatic sparring

India and China indulged in sparring after Beijing claimed PM Modi had sought a meeting with Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit

“There was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting. The two leaders, however, had an informal conversation in the leaders’ lounge during the BRICS summit,” said sources here, indirectly refuting Chinese Ministry of Foreign Ministry’s (MFA) assertion that PM Modi had sought a meeting. The MFA said Jinping stressed improving relations served the common interests of both sides, and was also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region. The Indian version of the meeting was more substantive and put the border issue upfront.

Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said that “the PM highlighted India’s concerns on unresolved issues” and “underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of India-China ties”. He said the two leaders agreed to direct their officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement. This aspect was not present in the Chinese readout. The MFA said Jinping told PM Modi “the two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region”.