'Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, Mutual Sensitivity' Basis For India-China Ties, Modi Tells Xi In Russia

As India and China seek to bring a thaw in their frozen ties, both sides have decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on the boundary question to ensure restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas even as friction points like Demchok and Depsang have been resolved.

India-China: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2024 that took place in Kazan, Russia. During the meeting that took place between both leaders after a gap of five years, PM Modi said “mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity” should be the basis of the bilateral ties between both neighbours even as they decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on the boundary question.

The Special Representatives talks on the boundary question, popularly known as the SR-level dialogue mechanism, was institutionalised in 2003 after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China. India’s SR is National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart is Foreign Minister and Politburo Member Wang Yi, who is Beijing’s SR.

“Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, and Mutual Sensitivity should continue to be the basis of our relations. Today we have got an opportunity to discuss all these issues. I am confident that we will talk with an open mind, and our discussion will be constructive,” Modi told Xi during the bilateral meeting.

Modi, who was accompanied by NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, also said, “I am pleased to meet you. And like you have said, we are meeting formally after 5 years. We believe that the importance of India-China relations is not just for our people. Our relations are also important for global peace, stability and progress.”

This meeting between both the leaders came at a time when India and China have reached an understanding to resolve the 2020 border crisis that erupted at the Eastern Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border areas.

 

“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 tranquility,” said an official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.  

The statement added that both the leaders agreed on an “early date” for the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question to meet.

The SRs will be meeting “to oversee the management of peace & tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. The relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of Foreign Ministers and other officials will also be utilized to stabilize and rebuild bilateral relations.”

The Chinese President was flanked by his Foreign Minister Wang Yi as well as confidant Cai Qi, who is a senior member of the Politburo Standing Committee.

According to a statement issued by the Chinese government, Xi said, “The two sides should continue to adhere to the important consensus that China and India see each other as an opportunity for development and do not pose a threat to each other and are partners rather than competitors, adhere to the correct strategic understanding, and work together to seek a bright and right path for the two big neighboring countries to get along with each other and develop together.”

On the border issue, China said, both countries “should work together to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, and seek fair and reasonable solutions.”

Demchok and Depsang Agreement 'Arrived At'

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said a resolution has been found between both sides on “pending issues in the balance areas” too. He was referring to a question on resolving Demchok area and Depsang plains.

“Demchok and Depsang… If you see the statements that I have made over the last 48 to 72 hours, I think the answer should be quite clear. I have made the point that the last time we had an agreement on the several issues that had arisen in the India-China border areas since 2020, the last agreement was in 2022, I think September,” he said.

 “Since then, we have been involved in trying to find a resolution of the pending issues in the balance areas along the Line of Actual Control, which pertain to these areas that you have mentioned. And the agreement that has been arrived at essentially pertains to these areas.” Misri told reporters while concluding the PM's visit to Russia.

The Foreign Secretary also said both sides have “set the process in motion” to bring the strained relationship to a “normal path.”

“As I mentioned earlier, restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas will create space for returning towards the path of normalization, what I meant by that is, with the recent agreements, the path has now opened, and it is necessary for both of us to continue on this path. As far as the question of trust is concerned, through the processes and actions between both sides, we hope that trust will increase between us,” he added.