In meet with Xi, PM Modi stresses ‘3M’ as the basis of India-China ties

Agencies New Delhi: In his first bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in nearly five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated Wednesday that “mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity” should be the basis of ties between India and China, reports The Print. During the meeting, that went on for nearly an hour on the margins of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, both leaders “affirmed” that “predictable and amicable” bilateral relations between the two countries would “have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.” “Welcoming the recent agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 in the India- China border areas, Prime Minister Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquillity,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

It added: “The two leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India- China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.” This bilateral meeting took place two days after New Delhi first announced that India and China had arrived at an arrangement for patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), indicating a thaw in relations after almost four-and-a-half years of a chill in diplomatic ties.

The two leaders “instructed” their special representatives National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval for India and Foreign Minister Wang Yi for China to meet at an “early date” and to continue the efforts in ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border region, said Vikram Misri, the Indian foreign secretary, at a special briefing held after the bilateral talks. While Doval and Wang have met on the sidelines of international conclaves, no discussion has been held since December 2019.