India, China are partners not rivals, stable ties key to Asian century: PM Modi in talks with Xi Jinping

PM Modi with Chines President Xi Jingping

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that India and China must view each other as partners in development rather than rivals, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday while briefing on the leaders’ bilateral meeting.

"They both agreed that the two countries were primarily focused on their domestic development goals, and in this, they were partners rather than rivals. It was also an element of consensus between them that a stable and amicable relationship between India and China can be to the benefit of the 2.8 billion people who live in the two countries," Misri said.

He added that the two leaders acknowledged that "the common interests of the two countries outweigh their differences and the two leaders also shared a consensus on the fact that differences should not be allowed to be turned into disputes."

#WATCH | Tianjin, China: On PM Modi's bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri says, "They both agreed that the two countries were primarily focused on their domestic development goals, and in this, they were partners rather than rivals.… pic.twitter.com/SsdFdln1A3

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Underscoring the global significance of cooperation, Misri noted: "It was also understood that it is critical that India and China grow and cooperate if there is to be an Asian century and a functioning multipolar world order with a multipolar Asia at its heart."

The Foreign Secretary said both leaders expressed satisfaction over progress since their last meeting in Kazan, particularly in strengthening people-to-people ties, and outlined principles that would guide the trajectory of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping also held discussions on the boundary issue between both countries, which figured prominently in discussions, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday.

Misri noted that both leaders "took note of the successful disengagement last year and the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border regions since then."

"In voicing certain principles related to this issue, the Prime Minister underlined the need for peace and tranquillity on the border areas for continued and smooth development of bilateral relations," Misri said. "There was understanding on the need to maintain peace on the borders using the existing mechanisms and avoid disturbances to the overall relationship going forward," he added.

Highlighting China’s approach, Misri said, "President Xi made four suggestions to further upgrade bilateral relations, namely to strengthen strategic communication and deepen mutual trust, to expand exchanges and cooperation, to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, to accommodate each other's concerns, and finally to strengthen multilateral cooperation to safeguard common interests — and all of these were responded to positively by Prime Minister Modi."