Meeting with Xi to add further vigour to India-China ties: PM
qingdao — Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday he had detailed discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on bilateral and global issues which will add further vigour to the India-China friendship after their informal summit in Wuhan.
An MoU on sharing hydrological information of the Brahmaputra River by China to India and another pact on amendment of the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice were signed after the Modi-Xi talks in Qingdao in the eastern Chinese port city.
During their meeting, which came nearly six weeks since the Wuhan summit, the two leaders discussed a blueprint for deepening bilateral relationship and reviewed the implementation of decisions they had taken in the central Chinese city.
The meeting took place ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and covered
key aspects of the bilateral engagement, reflecting the resolve by the two countries to reset relations and bring back trust in their ties which was hit by the Doklam standoff and several other thorny issues.
“Met this year’s SCO host, President Xi Jinping this evening. We had detailed discussions on bilateral and global issues. Our talks will add further vigour to the IndiaChina friendship,” Modi tweeted after the meeting.
Recalling that he and Prime Minister Modi successfully had an informal meeting and reached important
consensus in Wuhan, President Xi said the meeting had been well received by both countries and the international community, and a positive atmosphere is taking shape to pay close attention to and support the development of China-India relations.
China is willing to work with India to take the Wuhan meeting as a new starting point to continuously enhance political mutual trust and engage in mutually beneficial cooperation across the board, so as to push forward China-India relations in a better, faster and steadier manner, Xi was quoted as saying by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar described the meeting as “warm” and “forward looking” while Chinese envoy to India Luo Zhaohui said the two leaders focused on the implementation of the “Wuhan consensus” and drawing a blueprint for the future Sino-India relations.
“Further strengthening the positive momentum in the bilateral relationship generated at the Wuhan informal summit, PM Narendra Modi had a warm and forward looking meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit,” Kumar tweeted.
The meeting between the leaders of two Asian powers came after their informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan to solidify the relationship in a broad spectrum of areas and ensuring better coordination between the border guarding forces of the two countries after the Doklam standoff. —