Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at his residence in New Delhi, following the latter’s series of high-level talks in the capital earlier, as New Delhi and Beijing work towards stabilising and strengthening bilateral ties between the Asian giants.
During the meeting, PM Modi highlighted the steadily improving ties between the two nations and accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month.
“Glad to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities,” the Prime Minister said after the meeting.
He added, “I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity”.
The Prime Minister, during the meeting, stressed that peace and tranquillity along the border are essential for bilateral relations and welcomed the steady, positive progress in ties, sources said. He underlined that stable, predictable, and constructive relations would significantly contribute to regional and global peace and prosperity.
Earlier in the day, Wang Yi held high-level talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, after meeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday.
During the talks held under the framework of the Special Representatives (SR) mechanism, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said there has been an “upward trend” in India-China relations over the past nine months, as peace and tranquillity prevailed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), marking a renewed effort by both nations to move past the severe strain caused by the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
“Borders have been quiet, there has been peace and tranquillity, and our bilateral engagements have become more substantial,” he said.
Doval also formally announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China to attend the SCO Summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1, noting that the Special Representatives talks have assumed “very special importance” in light of the trip.
In his remarks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two sides should “increase mutual trust through strategic communication, expand common interests through exchanges and cooperation, and properly resolve specific issues” along the border. “We are heartened to see the stability that has now been restored along the border,” he said.
“Now, the bilateral relationship is facing an important opportunity for improvement and growth. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the Prime Minister’s visit to China to attend the SCO Summit at our invitation,” he added.
On Monday, S Jaishankar conveyed this to his visiting counterpart that India-China relations must be guided by mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.
Relations between India and China are undergoing a phase of de-escalation and gradual improvement, marking a clear departure from the heightened tensions that followed the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. This positive shift gained momentum after a pivotal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024, where both leaders committed to working towards normalising ties.
Since then, the two countries have pursued a series of confidence-building measures and diplomatic engagements. These include the disengagement of troops from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the revival of long-stalled people-to-people exchanges, such as the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and the issuance of tourist visas.
Wang Yi’s visit to India is also seen as important as it comes amid increasing tensions in India-US relations following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent that included an additional penalty of 25 per cent for purchasing Russian crude oil.
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