Tag: Modi Xi

India Says Modi Raised Border in ‘Conversation’ With Xi, China Says ‘Indian Request’ Led to Informal Talks

China has publicly claimed that the talks were based on an Indian request. This was their first direct conversation that has been revealed publicly since they apparently exchanged remarks in November 2022.

New Delhi: At their first direct ‘conversation’ in over nine months, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping seemed to have remained at their respective positions on the border standoff.

China publicly claimed that the informal talks was based on an Indian request. While there was no official denial from New Delhi, sources claimed that there had been a “pending” request from China for a “bilateral meeting”.

The two leaders talked on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, but both sides waited for nearly a day before declaring that there had been an interaction.

India took the lead in this announcement, as foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra revealed, shortly before their departure from South Africa, that Modi had conversed with the Chinese president. This was their first direct conversation that has been revealed publicly since they apparently exchanged remarks in November 2022 in Indonesia.

Kwatra volunteered that the two leaders had a “conversation” A few hours later, the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that there was a “candid and in-depth exchange of views”, adding that it took place at the request of the Indian side.

Speaking at a press conference, Kwatra said, “In a conversation with Xi Jinping of China, prime minister highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC on the western sector of the border areas.”

He stated that the prime minister “underlined that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity at borders and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of India China relationship”.

The top Indian diplomat then stated that there was an understanding from both leaders for an early resolution of the stand-off.

“In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify their efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation,” he said.

The Indian foreign secretary did not mention when and where the “conversation” took place – or who made the request.

“President Xi Jinping talked with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at the latter’s request on August 23, 2023,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement.

Even when asked if they had a bilateral meeting, Kwatra once more described the interaction as a “conversation”, indicating that New Delhi does not want imply that it was formal and structured.

China differed, emphasising that the interaction was substantive. “The two leaders had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest.”

The Chinese emphasised that the talks were requested by India in a public statement. There was an Indian reaction shared with the media, but it was made off the record.

“There was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting. The two leaders, however, had an informal conversation in the Leaders’ Lounge during the BRICS Summit,” said official Indian sources.

The above response from Indian sources does not deny that the latest ‘conversation’ was based on India’s request. It stated that China’s request for a bilateral meeting had been “pending”, but did not mention when it had been made.

As The Wire had reported in the run-up to Modi’s visit to South Africa, the question of who will make the request for a meeting in India-China ties is a diplomatically sensitive issue.

The Indian side doubled down on its insistence that it was not a structured meeting held in a separate room, by stating that it was “an informal conversation” in the BRICS Leaders’ lounge.

Modi and Xi together participated in various BRICS events for a large part of the last three days. On Wednesday, the two leaders took part in two sessions of the main plenary during the day and also attended the official dinner in the evening.

The way each country presented the content of their conversation once again highlighted the divergence in perspective concerning the ongoing border stand-off.

“President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region. The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region,” said the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.

In contrast to the Indian statement, the Chinese rendition omitted any reference to “unresolved issues” at the LAC. Neither did it mention that there was an agreement between the two leaders towards “expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”, as stated by India.

Xi also reiterated the Chinese view that the border stand-off should not impact the overall relationship.

This interpretation was also reinforced by the Chinese foreign ministry at its daily briefing in Beijing on Friday. “China’s position on the China-India border issue has always been consistent and clear. The border issue is a historical legacy and not the entirety of China-India relations. It should be placed in an appropriate position in bilateral relations and resolved through peaceful and friendly negotiations to find a just, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution,” said spokesperson Wang Wenbin, as quoted by state-run tabloid Global Times.

The Chinese president is expected to visit India in less than two weeks for the annual G20 summit.

India and China have been in a military stand-off at multiple points on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh since May 2020, which resulted in the death of 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers.

After multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks, there has been withdrawal of troops at around four friction points which has led to creation of buffer zones where neither country is allowed to patrol. It essentially meant that Indian army cannot patrol at around 26 patrolling points that they had access to before the start of the stand-off.

However, there are still two strategic points – Depsang Plains and Demchok – where India and China have been unable to reach any understanding. While India claimed that surge of Chinese troops at those points in these areas was linked to the three-year-old standoff, China insisted that these were legacy issues from the broader boundary dispute and should not be included in discussions concerning the ongoing border crisis.

Since last Friday, senior Indian and Chinese military commanders have engaged in a series of back-to-back discussions at the Major General level that were seen as a scene-setter for a much-anticipated bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi at BRICS summit.

The foreign secretary’s mention of the ‘conversation’ was a change from the situation last time when the two leaders had talked with each other at the dinner for G20 summit in Bali. Despite a photo surfacing of Modi and Xi standing and talking with each other, Kwatra had then only mentioned that there was an exchange of pleasantries.

While China had not mentioned the encounter then, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi referred to an “important consensus stabilising China-India relations in Bali” at his meeting with Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval last month.

Following that, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson acknowledged that the Indian and Chinese leader had “exchanged courtesies and also spoke of the need to stabilise our bilateral relations” in November 2022.

Note: This article was originally published at 11 pm on August 24, 2023, and was updated and republished at 9 am on August 25, 2023. It was once again updated with China’s claim that the talks were based on Indian request.

‘Who Will Move First?’: Is a Modi-Xi Meeting on the Cards at Johannesburg?

The joint India-China press release issued earlier this week had signalled that there may be a mood to make such a meeting happen.

New Delhi: While there is interest in a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, such an eventuality hinges on which side will place a request first. 

Besides the actual G-20 summit in September, one of the other important spotlights from the Indian perspective was going to be a meeting of the host, Modi, with Xi. It appears that a substantive meeting, their first since the start of the border stand-off in May 2020, may happen sooner than that, if things pan out.

It is learnt that there is certainly interest in India for a meeting to take place between the two leaders in South Africa. However, informed sources say the pressing issue now revolves around customary protocol – specifically in determining which side will initiate the formal request for the meeting.

While relations have gone into a deep freeze since May 2020, there has been several rounds of military and diplomatic talks between the two countries, which eventually led to disengagement at certain friction points. And yet there has been no further progress on the remaining points of Depsang and Demchok for two years, which renders the situation ripe for political intervention.

There has already been strong indication for some weeks that positive atmospherics were being created for a possible bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

The joint press release issued earlier this week had signalled this mood. Ranging from “positive” to “forward-looking”, the common readout of the Indian and Chinese Corp commanders’ meeting last weekend had a high concentration of optimistic-sounding descriptors about the discussions on the continuing stand-off at eastern Ladakh.

There have been other joint press releases after military talks in the last three years. However, even those releases did not contain as many affirmative words and phrases as there were in the most recent document.

With the leadership meeting still not finalised, there is always uncertainty about whether it will take place till the minute. There had been similar buzz about a Modi-Xi meeting in the run-up to the SCO summit in Samarkand last year. That speculation had been fueled by the completion of disengagement at Gogra-Hot Springs in mid-July 2022. Nonetheless, no meeting between Xi and Modi transpired in Uzbekistan.

This year, the weightage attributed to the conjecture regarding a potential bilateral meeting in South Africa is also linked to the upcoming G-20 summit.

India would also certainly China’s support to get the maximum bang for the buck out of the Delhi declaration of the G-20 summit. While the Ukraine issue will continue to see dissension from Russia and China, India would require China to not put a spanner in the work for a range of other subjects that are priority policies for the Indian PM.

For example, China has been regularly objecting on including any reference to Modi government’s pet concepts like LiFe and promotion of millets in the main outcome document at the ministerial meetings. India has, of course, also blocked any mention of tell-tale phrases e reflecting ‘Xi Jinping Thought’, as well as, pet projects like Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative.

While Indian officials are not holding their breath on finding a consensus over language regarding Ukraine in the G-20 final declaration, China’s cooperation remains essential to enable New Delhi to assert that there was unanimous backing for the predominant portion of the outcome document.

Earlier this year, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi had already held two rounds of meeting with Indian interlocutors, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. 

After the Doval-Wang meeting, the Chinese readout stated that there had been exchange of remarks between the top Indian and Chinese leaders at the G-20 dinner summit in Bali. It was a previously unreported conversation, with the Indian side having only mentioned that there was an exchange of courtesies.

When Indian media asked for clarification, New Delhi did not dismiss the Chinese version, but rather seemed to endorse it to an extent. This was a surprise to most observers who are aware of the MEA’s usual template of available replies. The spokesperson’s implicit acknowledgment that the complete details had not been furnished eight months earlier came as a surprise.

Next week, the leaders of the bloc of five emerging economies will be meeting physically for their first summit since 2019. While the Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend due to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed today, August 18, that Xi Jinping would travel to South Africa for a four-day visit. The foreign trip, from April 21 to 24, is relatively long by Chinese standards and is going to include both a BRICS summit and a bilateral state visit.

As per current schedule, Modi and his entourage will reach South Africa on August 22, in the evening according to local time. He will attend the informal meet for participating leaders after arrival. The main BRICS summit will be held on August 23, with the next day reserved for the BRICS outreach sessions. The Indian PM will depart for New Delhi on Thursday evening.

Even though South Africa has invited many African leaders as special invitees, it is understood there is enough time in the schedule for the Indian PM to have a substantive bilateral meeting with the Chinese leader. As usual, the dilemma – a common one for Indian diplomats faced with a potential meeting with Chinese or Pakistani leadership – centres on who makes the first request.

Watch | Galwan Clash a Personal Message to Modi, a Taunt by China: Former FS Nirupama Rao

In her interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Rao said that we must not believe the ‘chimera’ of mutual affection between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi.

In one of the most outspoken interviews by a former Foreign Secretary who has also served as Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao says that the Galwan clash, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed and perhaps others are missing and even possibly in China’s custody, is “a personal message to Modi”.

She called it “a taunt … a throwing down of the gauntlet.” She said all the talk we have heard over the last six years of a personal chemistry and mutual affection between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi is “a chimera”. Referring to the Wuhan spirt and last year’s Mamallapuram summit, she added that it is “a fallacy to believe all is well because you have had a couple of good summits”.

In this 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Rao said that whilst she does not know if the government will want to retaliate she warned that “China is not Pakistan”. She added “we have to embrace that reality”. She said India needed to take the long view and illustrated her answer by referring to Jawaharlal Nehru’s response after the 1962 war when he said “we cannot march to Peking (as Beijing was then called)”.

Speaking about how she perceived the Chinese intent behind the clashes in Galwan, Pangong Lake and, more recently, Depsang, Rao said that “clearly in Galwan the intent is to take over Indian territory.” She said the overall picture that emerges from the 5 or 6 different areas of clashes is that China is “attempting to change the status quo of the LAC”.

She said China has “destroyed” the mantra that previously guided the relationship ‘don’t let differences become disputes’ and all the protocols to determine peace and tranquillity on the LAC have been “thrown into disarray”.

Speaking more generally about the behaviour and attitude of the Chinese government, she went one step further and said their “behavioural trait can be called sly mockery”. She added “what you see is not what you get”.

Asked by The Wire whether questions can be raised about the fact Col. Babu decided to check whether the Chinese had withdrawn as they had committed to do at 7.30 at night, when its dark and the area is mountainous and dangerous, rather than during day light hours, Rao said: “That is definitely a question that needs to be answered.” She wondered aloud whether it was Col. Babu’s own decision to verify the Chinese withdrawal at 7.30 p.m. or whether he was doing this on instructions from his military superiors.

Asked by The Wire whether it would be possible for negotiations to lead to China withdrawing and restoring status quo ante, Mrs. Rao said: “That is going to be a long journey.” She specifically referred to Sumdorong Chu which took seven years to resolve and even a Rajiv Gandhi visit to Beijing in 1989 was not sufficient to settle the matter.

Asked by The Wire if in addition to negotiation India would need to put military pressure on China to ensure withdrawal and the restoration of status quo ante, Rao said that whilst every effort must be made to negotiate successfully “negotiation may not be sufficient”. She did not explicitly agree that India might have to militarily push the Chinese back, which would amount to conflict, but she added: “we cannot rule out further tension, altercation and confrontation.”

She said there was no doubt that China had acted at a time when India, because of the COVID-19 crisis and economic crisis, was on the back foot and looked weak. She said China was exposing “India’s weak spots”. She explained that “China feels uncomfortable with India as a peer”.

Finally, calling the Galwan killings “a turning point in India-China relations”, Rao said it will be hard to trust the Chinese hereafter. As she put it “trust is suffering from hypothermia”.

Rao was also critical of the manner in which the government has communicated over the last seven weeks that the situation with China was building up. She said the government had not communicated enough. “It should have guided the narrative”, but it did not.

Modi, Xi Jinping Tour Mamallapuram’s Temples Before Informal Summit

The two leaders have a packed schedule that includes informal and delegation-level talks and lunch and dinner meets.

New Delhi: Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled to hold informal summit talks this evening and on Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was welcomed in India with great pomp even as #GoBackModi trended on Twitter as he arrived in Tamil Nadu.

But what really popped on screens broadcasting the visit has been the bonhomie on display between the two leaders – especially at a time when tensions have been high over the situation in Kashmir as they visited the the coastal town of Mamallapuram.

Earlier in the day, when Xi touched down in Chennai for the two-day informal summit, he received a grand cultural welcome with traditional dance performances at the airport, and scores of children waving flags.

The Indian prime minister reached Mamallapuram ahead of Xi by a chopper to gave the Chinese president a temple tour.

The two leaders have a packed schedule that includes informal and delegation-level talks and lunch and dinner meets.

India had said on Wednesday that any change to Kashmir’s status is an internal affair and that there was no place for a third country to be involved after Xi said he was watching the situation closely and assured Pakistan of Chinese support for its core interests.

Also read: Explainer: Ahead of Modi-Xi Informal Summit, Key Questions Answered

China has longstanding military ties with Pakistan, which has twice fought a war with India over Kashmir. India and China share a 3,500 kilometres border, over which they went to war in 1962 and which remains unresolved despite more than 20 rounds of talks.

Xi is accompanied by top diplomat Wang Yi, while Modi’s team includes foreign minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

For China, a top concern has been the presence of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the so-called Tibetan government in exile, which has been based in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala ever since he fled Tibet following a failed uprising in 1959.

Eleven Tibetans were detained for allegedly trying to stage a protest at the airport and also outside the star hotel where the Chinese premier is staying during his two-day visit, the police said.

Police detains Tibetan activists protesting outside the hotel where the Chinese premier is staying in Chenna on October 11, 2019. Photo: PTI

Police whisked away a person with Tibetan flag and also four others who attempted to stage a sudden protest outside the hotel. Meanwhile, airport police said they detained six Tibetans for trying to stage a protest at the airport ahead of Xi’s arrival.

(With inputs from PTI and Reuters)

Explainer: Ahead of Modi-Xi Informal Summit, Key Questions Answered

Several factors, like the economy, the choice of venue and the Kashmir decision are at play.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will spend around seven hours together for their second informal summit over Friday and Saturday.

The leaders hold sway over the collective fates of over two billion people, making their meetings always significant. However, given the complicated international scenario and even more complex bilateral factors, the act of noting any progress in the relationship would require an abundance of patience.

The Wire analyses the key questions in play.

What is an ‘informal’ summit, as opposed to a normal summit?

In 2017, relations between India and China were probably at the lowest they had been in recent times due to the military stand-off at Bhutan’s Doklam region.

While the two armies eventually withdrew to earlier positions, the jolt to the relations continued to be felt. The political leadership had to press the ‘reset’ button – and it was felt that they needed to do it face-to-face.

But, whenever two leaders meet, there is always a lurking pressure to demonstrate the success of the meeting with ‘deliverables’. The ‘informal’ tag to the summit is a result of doing away with this practice. 

This means that the protocol trappings – a red carpet or flags on the table – remain, but there won’t be days of negotiations to announce a slew of agreements or issue a joint statement. Instead, both sides will issue separate joint press releases summarising the content of the discussions as per their national priorities.

Why was Mamallapuram chosen as the venue? 

Along with the picturesque value, the infrastructure of the venue needs to be robust enough to not buckle under the temporary migration of thousands of government, security and media personnel. In India, there are also considerations of political affiliation – with the centre preferring a BJP-ruled state as it would help to have local administration on its side to roll out the red carpet.

Also read: Wuhan to Chennai: Different Venue, Same Terrain in India-China Dialogue

Other cities in the running were Varanasi, Udaipur and Mumbai. Udaipur was a Beijing favourite, but it was felt that the infrastructure there may not be adequate. 

Mamallapuram, with its proximity to the metropolitan city of Chennai, fulfilled nearly all the criteria. 

It is a historical venue, which had proven links with China going back to as many as 1,300 years. There are indications that the Chinese monk Hiuen Tsang, who visited the Pallavan capital of Kanchipuram, may have also visited Mamallapuram. The last well-known Chinese leader to visit the town was Chinese premier Zhou Enlai in 1956. 

China president Xi Jinping was also a governor of Fujian, where newly-discovered Tamil inscriptions and sculptures show the presence of thriving and prosperous Indian trading community from the 10th to 13th centuries.

Tamil Nadu is also a hub of Chinese investment, with several Chinese firms having their factories in the industrialised southern state.

Did the Wuhan summit in 2018 deliver what it promised – a reset based on directions from the very top?

At the end of Wuhan informal summit, foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had said that main takeaway was that the two leaders had agreed to improve “strategic communication” at all levels. Further, the Indian press release noted that the two leaders had given “strategic guidance” to the military to strengthen communication and cooperation – an important marker in the post-Doklam period.

Speaking to The Wire a few days after the Wuhan summit, former National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon had also underlined the significance of a stand-alone summit as a way to signal the importance of the relationship to a domestic audience. 

“In a structured system like the Chinese system, most ordinary Chinese would assume that none of this would happen without the approval of the leadership. So it is important that the leadership is seen saying ‘No, that is not the kind of relationship we are looking for with India’.”

There is largely a consensus that the India-China relationship did have a relatively good year after the debacle of Doklam.

Also read: What Chess and ‘Go’ Tell Us About India and China’s Strategic Thinking

Former Indian ambassador to China and director of Delhi-based Institute of Chinese studies, Ashok Kantha agreed that the Wuhan summit did help in ensuring that relations were “back on an even keel”. “We saw strategic guidance being given to border forces resulting in more coordination at ground level. The number of incidents seem to have come down,” he noted.

The only serious incident took place last month on the banks of the Pangong Tso lake, but the face-off ended within a day.

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor of Central Asian Studies, Alka Acharya, also noted that when issues become intractable, “this kind of event sends a signal down the line”. “At the end of the day, the important thing is that you jaw-jaw, rather than war-war, and that you continue to convey that this is important to both. That this is being held despite many people continuing to pour cold water on the whole thing is also significant,” she noted. 

Similarly, political scientist and China scholar Manoranjan Mohanty, described the informal summit as an “useful exercise”. “There was much scepticism last year. But it did turn out to be a key baseline in setting parameters for overall relations,” said Mohanty, who is an Honorary Fellow at Institute of Chinese Studies and the author of book, China’s Transformation: The Success Story and the Success Trap.

The run-up to the Mamallapuram summit has been eventful – with diplomatic exchanges over Kashmir, military exercises and the Pakistan prime minister’s Beijing visit. Will they cast a shadow?

There had been a lot of speculation in the run-up to the summit this weekend over “complications”. The buzz intensified as both sides took their time to formally announce the summit dates. Ultimately, the formal announcement was made on Wednesday morning.

In August, India changed the constitutional status of and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. China sharply reacted to the developments by describing the creation of a separate Union Territory of Ladakh as “unacceptable”. India responded by terming it as interference in its internal affairs.

There was also visible sparring at New York, when India’s envoy to the UN expressed surprise that the Chinese envoy had sought to give the impression that his statement to the media was a reflection of the consensus arrived at behind the closed doors of a Security Council discussion on Kashmir. China had proposed that the Security Council hold the discussion in the first place.

Since then, there have been other pin-pricks. There are reports that China protested against the holding of an Indian military exercise at Arunachal Pradesh, while India verbally objected to a Chinese envoy’s remarks supporting Pakistani position on Kashmir.

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing – and the joint press release with the advocacy of UNSC resolutions for Kashmir – is also seen as no coincidence. 


“This shows that we should have no illusion of a China-Pakistan relationship. It is a relationship on which China has invested heavily and based on which it is willing to disregard some of our concerns,” said Kantha.

Indian sources had said that Modi will not raise the issue of Article 370, but would explain the Indian position should President Xi seek a clarification.

Kantha stated that both countries have serious concerns about third country relationships. While India looks anxiously at ties between China and Pakistan, whose salience has increased, Beijing also looks askance at closer India-US ties and the rising role of the Quad.

Recently, the four foreign ministers of the Quad countries – India, US, Japan and Australia – met together for the first time in New York. “India is obviously through the Quad hoping to bring the US as some kind of leverage,” said Acharya, who has been nominated to India-China Eminent Persons Group and as a member of National Security Advisory Board. 

She feels that India talks too much on issues which are “not going to be resolved” and cited China’s relations with Pakistan. “This is why I feel that by focusing on issues which are not going to achieve immediate results, we are dooming what can be achieved”.

According to Mohanty, both neighbours have found a way to handle their interactions in spite of the Pakistan angle. “But they may still have to discuss the Kashmir issue. That the consequences may include the spread of violent reactions to the Indian action in Kashmir has to be reckoned with,” he said.

What should be India’s expectations from the second informal summit?

Government sources had indicated on Wednesday that the Indian side would be raising the issue of trade imbalance, discuss possible new border confidence building measures, increase people-to-people contacts and raise the need to combat terrorism jointly.

Speaking to The Wire, Mohanty outlined four possible areas for India and China to scout for opportunities during the informal summit.

  • While respecting the depth of China-Pakistan relations and the complications caused by the Kashmir development, how to keep the main trend of improvement in China-India relations on track.
  • Give economic relations a serious boost by opening new sectors for trade and investment in both countries.
  • Jointly work on global issues such as climate change and new information order.
  • Not only broker peace and tranquillity on the Line of Actual Control but make progress on identification of LAC as a step towards boundary settlement.

The former Indian ambassador also concurred that while additional confidence-building measures were satisfactory, there was a need to clarify the Line of Actual Control. The process remains stalled as China has not agreed to exchange maps that show their perception of the boundary.

All three experts that The Wire spoke to, collectively concurred that trade and economic ties should get the spotlight in Tamil Nadu.

“I think the more immediate issue is how to sort out the economic imbalance. Maybe we should take a final stand on the 5G issue,” said Acharya.

With trade issues being an integral part of geopolitical positioning, India and China also have to deal with a highly fluid scenario internationally. For example, there is still no end line in sight for the US-China trade war, with talks still to resume.

Also read: Caught in the Crossfire: American Consumers and the US-China Trade War

Similarly, Kantha expected trade to get “some fair amount of attention at Mamallapuram”. He pointed out that there was some talk of a new high-level dialogue being launched on economic issues.

In recent months, China has allowed some Indian drugs into the Chinese market, but Kantha noted that this “cannot be incremental”. India should push for a “time-bound” market access to China, as “we have been discussing it for ages”.

According to latest official Chinese data, the trade deficit in 2018 climbed to $57.86 billion from $51.72 billion in 2017. Further, in the first five years of the financial year, bilateral trade declined by 3.59% year on year, which means that it may not cross $100 billion in 2019.

He suggested that there should be more “investment-led” trade expansion. Right now, most of the money from China is being invested in internet economy firms. “The 5G is only part of the entire issue…Telecom is a larger basket of projects. We are already getting 70% of global imports from China”.

There has to be more linkages between India and China in global supply chains – and more shifting of manufacturing capacity to the South Asian state, posited Kantha.

The Chinese ambassador to India, Sun Weidong said that Chinese investment in India stood at $8 billion, with over 1,000 Chinese firms investing in industrial parks, e-commerce and other areas, and creating 200,000 local jobs.

India has not yet taken a decision on whether to allow Chinese state telecom major Huawei to take part in trials for 5G services. The US has been asking countries to ban the Chinese firm from 5G services over security concerns. While India does have security concerns, the Indian industry has been largely in favour of allowing Chinese firms due to the cost factor.

“China encourages Chinese companies to invest in India and hopes that India will provide a more fair, friendly and convenient business environment for Chinese companies to operate in India,” said Sun.

The Chinese president is expected to push India to give the green signal for the multilateral Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to take shape, even as New Delhi has concerns that Chinese goods would flood its markets due to reduced tariffs.

India wants China and other countries to provide more access in investments and service in the trade agreement. “We want to see how much flexibility China is willing to show, so that we can accommodate their concerns,” said government sources on Wednesday.

Standoff Between Indian, Chinese Soldiers in Ladakh Ends After Talks: Indian Army

The standoff came as the Indian Army on Wednesday announced plans to hold a joint exercise with the Indian Air Force next month in Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi: Tensions between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh near the Pangong lake, that had flared up on Wednesday, subsided after delegation-level talks were held, according to a report in India Today.

The standoff, which lasted for a day, came as the Indian Army on Wednesday announced plans to hold a joint exercise with the Indian Air Force next month in Arunachal Pradesh.

The standoff, which began in the early hours of Wednesday morning, reportedly took place along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near the northern bank of the 134-km-long Pangong lake in Ladakh, two-thirds of which is controlled by China.

Sources within the army claimed that tensions escalated after Indian troops on patrol were confronted by soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army of China who objected to their presence in the area. “This led to a scuffle between the rival soldiers, with both sides sending some reinforcements to the area… the face-off was in progress at the site till the evening,” a source told Times of India.

Speaking to TOI, the Army said that the delegation-level talks to diffuse tensions were led by brigadier-rank officers and “had been sought and agreed to by the two sides” as per the established bilateral mechanism.

“Such incidents often take place due to differing perceptions of where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) actually lies … they are usually resolved through border personnel meetings, flag meetings and the like,” an officer told TOI.

Also read: India Tells China: No Change in LaC or LoC After Recent Moves

According to ANI, the Indian Army “disengaged fully after delegation-level talks” were held on Wednesday.

Referring to the statement of the Indian army, the MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the “matter had been resolved”.

“It is important to note how quickly the matter got resolved. It means that the mechanism which exists between India and china are working very well,” he told reporters at the weekly briefing on Thursday. 

Incidentally, the Pangong Tso lake was also the site of a bitter scuffle between Indian and Chinese soldiers on August 19, 2017, which led to jostling and stone pelting between soldiers of the two armies although no shots were fired.

This confrontation came at a time when tensions between India and China were heightened due to a two-month-long standoff in the Bhutanese territory of Doklam on the Sikkim border.

Despite disengagement from the standoff, the Chinese have constructed military infrastructure and helipads and stationed troops permanently in north Doklam.

The site of the scuffle assumes significance as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) cuts through the lake, but India and China do not agree on its exact location.

The Indian Army has said similar incidents can take place along the LAC in view of its exercise next month. On Wednesday, the Indian Army had announced its plans to hold an exercise in October in which the Indian Air Force and the Army would jointly exercise a real war scenario in Arunachal Pradesh.

The skirmish comes a month before of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 10-12 near Chennai. Line of Actual Control (LAC) stability and trade ties are likely to be the focus of discussion when PM Modi meets Xi Jinping.

Also read: ‘Unfortunate That India Used Democracy to Snatch Rights of Ladakhis’: Kargil Leader

The site assumes significance as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) cuts through the lake, but India and China do not agree on its exact location.

The mountains, which move forward in spurs, on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso lake are referred to as “fingers” by the Indian Army. India claims that the Line of Actual Control (LAC) runs along Finger 8, but is physically able to control area only up to Finger 4. Chinese border posts are at Finger 8, while Indian border posts are located close to Finger 3.

The “Him Vijay” exercise by the Indian Army in Arunachal Pradesh is scheduled to be held around the time Chinese President Xi Jinping is supposed to visit India for an informal summit with PM Narendra Modi.

Previously an informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held in Wuhan in April 2018 in the aftermath of the Doklam face-off.

Sources speaking to TOI said that Chinese authorities had not been informed of the upcoming exercise as it was not going to be held close to the border in Arunachal Pradesh.

In August, after the Indian government enacted legislation to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Beijing had termed the carving of Ladakh into a separate union territory as “unacceptable”. Chinese spokesperson Hua Chunying had said that the reorganisation of Ladakh would directly “impede China’s sovereignty”.

At a recent meeting of the foreign ministers in Beijing, Indian external affairs minister Jaishankar told the Chinese state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi that the recent legislative changes would not change external boundaries. “It did not impact the LoC (Line of Control),” said the Indian minister, adding that China “should base its assessment on realities”.

This story was updated to include the MEA’s response. 

‘Atmosphere Not Right’ for a Xi-Modi Meet in Hamburg, Says Chinese Official

China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Doklam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for past 19 days after a Chinese Army’s construction party attempted to build a road.

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: PTI

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: PTI

Beijing: China today said the “atmosphere” was “not right” for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, amidst a standoff between the armies of the two countries in the Sikkim section.

“The atmosphere is not right for a bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said ahead of the G20 Summit in the German city of Hamburg from tomorrow.

China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Doklam area near the Bhutan tri-junction for past 19 days after a Chinese Army’s construction party attempted to build a road. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Doklam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

There were reports that Modi and Xi may meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit to resolve the standoff.

China’s state-run media yesterday had quoted Chinese analysts as saying that Beijing would be forced to use a “military way” to end the standoff in the Sikkim sector if India refuses to listen to the “historical lessons” being offered by it.

(PTI)