Improvement of Sino-Indian ties serves the common interests of both countries

The Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday that President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged views on bilateral ties and issues of common concern on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The two leaders had "candid and in-depth talks" on Wednesday, according to a statement released by the ministry. Xi stressed that the improvement of China-India relations serves the common interests of both countries and peoples, and is also conducive to the peace, stability and development of the region and the world at large, it said.

Xi told Modi that the two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and properly handle the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the region.

"We hope to work together with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders, enhance strategic mutual trust, focus on cooperation and overcome difficulties, so as to bring forward the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing on Friday.

Wang reiterated that the border issue, as a difficult issue left over from history, is never the entirety of the China-India relationship.

The two sides should put the issue in an appropriate place in bilateral ties and find a just and reasonable resolution that both sides can accept through peaceful and friendly negotiations, he said.

Experts said the talks between Xi and Modi were the first sit-down exchanges since the border clash between Chinese and Indian troops in June 2020, which was a heavy blow to bilateral relations.

Since then, India has intensified its restrictions on China through measures such as banning Chinese apps such as TikTok, denying visa renewals to Chinese journalists in India and erecting obstacles for people-to-people exchanges.

The talks between the two leaders are the two countries' latest effort to ease bilateral tensions and bring ties back on track to stable development, they said.

"The talks met expectations for friendly cooperation between the two countries from both Chinese and Indian people and the international community," said Zhang Shubin, a professor at Hebei University of Economics and Business.

"Letting the border dispute create greater problems will be in the interests of no one," Zhang said.

Since both China and India are important members of international organizations such as BRICS and the G20, Zhang said it is also important that the two countries enhance their coordination and pool their resources together for regional and global economic development.

Lin Minwang, deputy director of the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, said Wednesday's talks marked a subtle strategic adjustment made by India in its relations with China.

"The adjustment is out of India's need to prepare for its election next year as well as the upcoming G20 Summit," Lin said.

But expectations for improving the China-India relationship in the short term should not be too high as its general China policy remains unchanged, he said.