Chinese leader Xi Jinping told India’s Narendra Modi the “right choice” is for their countries to be friends as the two met in China for first time in seven years – a new milestone in a nascent rapprochement between the world’s most populous nations accelerated by shared frictions with the United States.
Xi and Modi’s highly-anticipated meeting Sunday, on the sidelines of a regional summit in the eastern port city of Tianjin, comes as both nations face stiff US tariffs under President Donald Trump global trade war, as well as Western scrutiny over their relationships with Russia as the war in Ukraine grinds on.
“The world today is swept by once-in-a-century transformations,” Xi told Modi in opening remarks, as both leaders sat face-to-face flanked by their officials. “The international situation is both fluid and chaotic,” he added.
“It is the right choice for both sides to be friends who have good neighbourly and amicable ties, partners who enable each other’s success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together,” Xi said, referring to traditional symbols of the two nations. “As long as they adhere to the overall direction of being partners rather than rivals … China-India relations can maintain stability and move forward over the long run.”
Modi said India was “committed” to taking their countries’ relations forward “on the basis of mutual trust and respect,” and referenced the warming of relations, including an easing of tensions along their disputed Himalayan border – where the two fought a deadly skirmish in 2020.
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