CNN
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping agreed to “depth efforts” to deescalate tensions at their contested border, in a uncommon face-to-face assembly since a lethal conflict strained relations greater than three years in the past.
Modi and Xi, who’re in Johannesburg for the BRICS financial group assembly, had a dialog on the sidelines of the summit, India’s Overseas Secretary Vinay Kwatra instructed reporters Thursday, sooner or later after the Chinese language chief mysteriously skipped a key occasion.
Face-to-face conferences between the leaders of India and China, the world’s two most populous nations, are uncommon.
The disputed border has lengthy been a supply of friction between New Delhi and Beijing, with the agitation spilling right into a 1962 conflict that resulted in a Chinese language victory. Within the ensuing years, an ill-defined de facto border known as the Line of Precise Management (LAC) has cut up the 2 nuclear powers.
“(Modi) underlined that the upkeep of peace and tranquility within the border areas, and observing and respecting the LAC are important for the normalization of the India-China relationship,” Kwatra mentioned.
In an announcement Friday, China’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs mentioned the 2 leaders “had a candid and in-depth alternate of views on present China-India relations” amongst different pursuits.
“President Xi careworn that bettering China-India relations serves the frequent pursuits of the 2 international locations and peoples,” it added. “The 2 sides ought to keep in mind the general pursuits of their bilateral relations and deal with correctly the border concern in order to collectively safeguard peace and tranquility within the border area.”
The assembly, which can be seen as a step towards mending their fraught relationship, comes one week after India and China engaged of their nineteenth spherical of talks to resolve their border concern.
“The 2 sides had a optimistic, constructive and in-depth dialogue on the decision of the remaining points alongside the LAC within the Western Sector,” India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned in an announcement.
Modi and Xi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Group (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September final 12 months, however didn’t interact diplomatically. They’d a short dialog weeks in a while the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ assembly in Bali, Indonesia.
Tensions between the 2 international locations soured considerably after a lethal conflict in Aksai Chin-Ladakh in 2020, and escalated final December when a brawl between troops from either side within the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern territory of Arunachal Pradesh resulted in minor accidents.
In April, India’s protection minister instructed his Chinese language counterpart that violations of their shared border erode the “complete foundation” of relations between the 2 neighbors.
Because the 2020 conflict, India has taken a number of steps to push again in opposition to perceived threats from China, together with banning social media platform TikTok and different well-known Chinese language apps, saying they pose a “menace to sovereignty and integrity,” whereas additionally shifting to dam Chinese language telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE from supplying its 5G community.
Extra not too long ago, the 2 international locations have seemingly cracked down on reporters and have few or no accredited journalists on the bottom in one another’s territory.
Amid rising nationalism in each international locations, considerations in New Delhi of Beijing’s growing assertiveness has additionally bolstered India’s relationship with the USA, together with by way of the Quadrilateral Safety Dialogue, or Quad – a grouping of Japan, the US, India and Australia broadly seen as a counterweight to China.
China earlier this 12 months boycotted a G20 tourism assembly hosted by India within the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir, citing its opposition “to holding any sort of G20 conferences in disputed territory.” India and Pakistan each declare the disputed Kashmir area in its entirety.
India’s choice to host this 12 months’s SCO just about meant that Modi and Xi didn’t have a possibility for a face-to-face assembly. Xi can also be anticipated to attend the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi subsequent month.