New chapter: Modi- Xi’s ‘ heart- to- heart’ meet
The Modi- Xi meeting is the ‘ first- ever Informal Summit’ between India and China. Relations between the world’s two most populous countries had been on a downward spiral since April 2015 when China launched an economic corridor with Pakistan that crosses through Pakistanoccupied Kashmir. Last year’s standoff over Doklam after Chinese forces tried to build a road in the area India believes belongs to Bhutan had the two armies standing eyeballto- eyeball for 73 days. The two sides “disengaged” on August 28.
The informal meet is being seen as an effort by India and China to rebuild the trust and improve ties. In the two days, the two leaders exchanged views on “solidifying” the IndiaChina relationship and decided to issue strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communications and to build trust and understanding. The two countries have so far held 20 rounds of talks to resolve the boundary dispute and worked out different mechanisms to keep peace along the 3,488- km long Line of Actual Control.
The informal meetings go way back to 2014 when Xi was first hosted by Modi at the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat.
China and India have many similar ideas in international affairs. When dealing with relations between major powers, China insists on strategic autonomy, not on conflict and confrontation, and building a new type of international relationship that is based on mutual respect, fairness and justice, and winwin cooperation. This is in line with the five principles of peaceful coexistence ( Panchsheel) jointly advocated by China and India in the 1950s. — XI JINPING, Chinese President