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.
“The interests of 2.8 billion people in both our countries are tied to our cooperation,” he added.
The positive signals are sure to be closely watched in Washington, where tensions with New Delhi threaten to derail what had been years of efforts from US diplomats to deepen ties with the country as a key counterweight to a rising and increasingly assertive China – a set of circumstances that makes the latest meeting all the more important and timely to Xi.
Trump earlier this month levied significant economic penalties on India, initially placing its imports into the US under 25% tariffs and then slapping an additional 25% duties on the country as punishment for importing Russian oil and gas, which Washington sees as helping to fund Putin’s war in Ukraine. Both China and India are major purchasers of Russian oil, though China has yet to be targeted with such measures.
Modi said he spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Saturday and “exchanged views on the ongoing conflict.” India has previously said it does not take sides in the war.
India’s oil purchases could be a point of discussion on Monday, when Modi is expected to hold bilateral talks with Putin, part of his wider diplomacy as he joins a two-day summit of the Beijing-and Moscow-backed regional security grouping known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
In addition to China, Russia, and India, the group includes Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as partner and observer countries. Chinese officials ahead of the event said leaders from more than 20 countries from across Asia and Middle East would join the summit.
Xi hosted attending leaders for a welcome banquet on Sunday evening, where he appeared to put his warm and relaxed rapport with Putin on show. Footage released by Russia state news agency RIA showed the two leaders gesturing animatedly and smiling as they chatted at the event, showing a different side of the typically restrained Chinese leader.
The pair then walked shoulder to shoulder together after posing for a photo alongside other gathered leaders, with Xi gesturing for Putin to walk with him, footage released by the Kremlin showed.
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