Modi Meets Wang Yi, Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Border Resolution

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stressed the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the frontier with China and reiterated India's commitment to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to the boundary issue as he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

According to PTI, in addition to the anticipation of meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin, Modi also stated that stable, predictable, and constructive relations between India and China will greatly contribute to regional and global peace.

Wang gave Prime Minister Modi a message and an invitation to the SCO summit from President Xi when he arrived in Delhi on Monday for a two-day visit.

The indication of a new vigour in India-China relations coincided with tensions between Washington and New Delhi over President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

Following his meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Modi said on social media that since his discussions with President Xi about ten months ago, India-China relations had steadily improved under the direction of respect for one another's interests and sensitivities.

In October last year, Modi and Xi met in the Russian city of Kazan and decided to resurrect a number of mechanisms to normalise bilateral relations and resolve the border conflict, two days after India and China agreed to terminate the eastern Ladakh face-off.

PTI reported that Wang's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

"Glad to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Since my meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other's interests and sensitivities," Modi said on 'X'.

"I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity," he said.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to a "fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable" resolution of the boundary dispute and emphasised the significance of preserving peace and tranquillity along the border.

"The prime minister welcomed the steady and positive progress in bilateral ties since his meeting with President Xi in Kazan last year, guided by mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity, including the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra," it said in a statement.

Modi thanked Xi for the invitation to the SCO summit and conveyed his acceptance.

According to the PMO, the prime minister stated his support for China's SCO Summit presidency and his excitement for seeing President Xi in Tianjin.  According to the report, Wang expressed his "positive assessment" of his discussions with NSA Ajit Doval and his bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The Chinese foreign minister met with Doval on Tuesday as part of the Special Representative dialogue on the boundary issue, while Wang and Jaishankar engaged in lengthy discussions on Monday.

Both sides discussed preserving peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) during the SR negotiations.

Despite removing troops from the areas of conflict, the two sides have not yet withdrawn their frontline units from the border to defuse the situation.  Along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region, there are currently between 50,000 and 60,000 troops on either side.

Bilateral relations were severely strained as a result of the May 2020 military standoff in eastern Ladakh and the June 2020 fighting in the Galwan Valley.

According to an agreement reached on October 21 of last year, the face-off essentially came to an end when Demchok and Depsang completed the disengagement procedure from their final two points of contention.

In recent months, the two parties have also started a number of efforts to mend their relationship, such as the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra being resumed and New Delhi issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens once more.