Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold their much-anticipated and high-stakes bilateral meeting later today on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Ahead of the talks, Beijing conveyed a message of “good neighbourliness”, urging the two Asian powers to prioritise their long-term relationship while “properly handling differences”.
The meeting will mark Xi’s first trip to India in seven years, as New Delhi and Beijing continue their cautious attempts to restore diplomatic ties following the 2020 Galwan clash and ongoing tensions over Arunachal Pradesh.
Speaking about the upcoming talks, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said Beijing would work with New Delhi to take bilateral relations towards a more strategic level.
“China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good neighborliness and partners helping each other succeed,” Xu said in a post on X.
The meeting between Modi and Xi will be the third year in a row that the two leaders have held talks, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin.
Xi is expected to arrive in New Delhi at around 1 pm, while his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi is scheduled for 5.45 pm.
CHINA EMPHASISES DIALOGUE AND COOPERATION
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also echoed Xu’s call for “good neighbourliness”.
Mao said China was prepared to work with BRICS members to resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiations, while contributing to peace and stability amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war.
She described BRICS as an important platform for emerging economies and developing nations, saying the grouping had evolved into “a real force standing at the forefront of the Global South”.
India, which currently holds the BRICS chairmanship, is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.
Xi first travelled to India in September 2014. He returned in 2016 to attend the BRICS Summit in Goa, while his most recent visit came in 2019 for an informal meeting with Prime Minister Modi in Mamallapuram near Chennai.
