India and China discussed a wide-range of issues, including the contentious border row, and interests of the two nations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The two nations agreed to strengthen communication between their powerful militaries and implement a series of confidence building measures. Both Modi and Xi reiterated their opposition to terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate to defeat terrorism.
In a press conference held on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that the meeting was held to build a broader long-term strategic vision.
India and China endorsed the work of special representatives to settle the boundary dispute, which took a very ugly turn at Doklam in 2017 when a 73-day long military standoff raised fears of a repeat of the 1962 war. The crisis had brought India-China ties to a nadir.
Gokhale said that Modi and Xi agreed to issue strategic guidance to their militaries to strengthen communication, to build trust and understanding, to implement various confidence-building measures existing between the two countries, and to strengthen existing institutional mechanism to prevent and manage situations in the border areas.
“They also underscored that in the meantime it is important to maintain peace and tranquility in all areas of the India-China border region,” he said.
The two sides agreed to work on connectivity and increase strategic communication while acknowledging economic growth of the two nations.
The two nations agreed to strengthen the closer development partnership between the two countries while respecting each other’s sensitivities and aspirations.
Both India and China recognised the significance of balance in trade and that trade should be sustainable.
“PM Modi spoke of the possibilities of agricultural and pharmaceutical exports to China,” said Gokhale.
India and China agreed to coordinate efforts in more cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Spirituality, trade and films were some of the areas which Xi and Modi recognised as ideal ways of achieving the goal.
“PM Modi said that India looks forward to learn from China’s achievements in sports,” informed Gokhale.
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Healthcare, too, was on the table. It was agreed that traditional systems of medicine in the two countries was given greater prominence on the international stage. Ways to join hands in global healthcare were also discussed.
India and China agreed to strengthen strategic communication through greater consultation while acknowledging each other’s contribution to global economy.
Also discussed were number of global challenges such as climate change, food security and sustainable development and find ways to collaborate in tackling them.
“Though PM Modi and Xi held four one-on-one talks and one delegation-level meeting, there were no formal agreements due to the ‘informal’ nature of the meeting,” said Gokhale.
Responding to a question, the Foreign Secretary said that it was the 9th BRICS Summit held in Xiamen in China from 3-5 September 2017 led to the start of the thaw which resulted in the informal summit. Modi and Xi had met during the BRICS Summit but nothing substantial came out of that.