Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Oct 25: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting on the side lines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday.
According to information released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders discussed improving India-China relations and agreed to work on restoring ties that had deteriorated due to border confrontations and other issues. During the meeting, Xi Jinping told Modi that India and China should take a different approach regarding their relationship and cooperation.
The first meeting in five years between Modi and Xi comes after recent talks between India and China regarding the Indo-Tibet border issues and military deployment arrangements reached some agreement.
The breakthrough in the patrolling arrangement comes four years after the Galwan Valley clash and signals a move towards de-escalation in a region where both countries stationed tens of thousands of troops.
Tibetan President-in-exile Penpa Tsering welcomed the diplomatic engagement between the two Asian powers in an interview with ANI where he lauded the development while maintaining a cautious perspective.
The democratically elected Tibetan leader said, “I think from the very beginning, when PM Modi came into the office, he tried his best to build relations with China. His Holiness, the Dalai, Lama and Tibetan people have always appreciated good relations between neighbours, between countries, and between people, and we believe in nonviolence and peaceful coexistence…”
He added, “So this (bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Xi), I would say is a good development because any relationship that is improving, that is leading towards more peace is definitely appreciative…”
While acknowledging the benefits of improved India-China relations, Tsering expressed scepticism about China’s reliability and said that “it is difficult to trust China.”
China’s repeated aggression and unprovoked belligerence against India, especially along the Indo-Tibetan border have strained relations between the two Asian giants, despite New Delhi’s attempts to normalise ties and deescalate frictions over the years.
