New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit here on Saturday, as India and China seek to reset ties, reaffirming that "differences should not become disputes."
PM Modi emphasised that peace and tranquility in the border areas "remains an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement following the meeting.
Xi landed in Delhi on Saturday to participate in the India-hosted BRICS Summit - his first visit in seven years. India-China ties suffered major setback in the months after military clashes in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
"The two leaders welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. They reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long term perspective of their ties. Differences should not become disputes. The Prime Minister highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals - "mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest," the MEA statement said.
PM Modi underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border related issues. The two leaders expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples.
The two leaders took note of the progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to further promote cultural exchanges, business linkages and greater mobility between the two countries. On economic and trade relations, they underlined the need to address each other's concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access.
They agreed that both sides must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues, and in addressing challenges. PM Modi appreciated China's support for India's BRICS chairship and its contributions toward the success of the 18th BRICS Summit-2026.
In talks with Modi, Xi described India and China as "important members" of the Global South and said the two nations "shoulder significant responsibilities".
"In the face of a complex international landscape marked by intertwined changes and challenges, China and India, as the world's two most populous countries and important members of the Global South, shoulder significant responsibilities. Both sides should keep the future of humanity in mind and the well-being of their peoples at heart, and work together to advance high-quality cooperation within the greater BRICS framework. We should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and an inclusive, mutually beneficial form of economic globalisation, injecting more positive energy into the promotion of world peace, stability, development and prosperity," Xi said.
Addressing the BRICS Summit, Xi Jinping said that China would work with other members of the BRICS bloc towards that goal, as the conflict in the Middle East "does not serve the common interests of the international community", reports quoting state-run CCTV.
The Chinese President urged the BRICS bloc to be a peacemaker in the Middle East conflict. "China will work with other BRICS members in that role, as the war does not serve the common interests of the international community", CCTV quoted Xi as saying.
Speaking on cooperation within the BRICS context, Xi stressed that the two nations must always think about "the future of humanity" and the welfare of their people.
The Modi-Xi talks hold a lot of significance considering that New Delhi and Beijing are trying to overcome the mistrust created due to the 2020 clash along the LAC.
There have been improvements, nonetheless, in the past few years, with diplomatic and military interactions smoothing out tensions on the border. Political interactions have also come amidst broader geopolitical changes such as the increased volatility in India and China's relationships with the United States.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.