Xi and Modi agree to maintain peace on border in BRICS chat
Chinese and Indian leaders had 'candid' exchange, Beijing spokesperson says
BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of this week's BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, amid tense relations between their governments.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the two leaders agreed that China and India should work together to maintain peace along their disputed border. They had a "candid and in-depth exchange of views" on Wednesday regarding current relations and other questions of shared interest, according to the spokesperson.
Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interest of the two countries and their people, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region, the spokesperson added.
In 2020, brutal hand-to-hand clashes between their troops left more than 20 dead. Bilateral relations soured in the aftermath, including an Indian move to ban Chinese software apps, such as the globally popular short-video sharing platform TikTok.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters in Johannesburg on Thursday that Modi highlighted to Xi "India's concerns on the unresolved issues" in the border areas. "The prime minister underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalization of the India-China relationship," he said, referring to the Line of Actual Control, the de facto boundary.
"In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation," Kwatra said.
To a question on whether the Modi-Xi talks constituted a formal bilateral meeting, he replied that it was "a conversation."
Additional reporting by Kiran Sharma in Jaipur, India.