In a step to ease border tensions, India and China would enhance communication between their militaries posted at the border, said the foreign secretary of India after the conclusion of an ice-breaking meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.
The meetings between the two leaders were very informal and were conducted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It has just been months that the military of the two neighbors faced a standoff at the border for a period of 72 days.
There was enough wisdom and maturity in the two countries to be able to take care of all their differences peacefully through talks and this was agreed to by both leaders, said Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to reporters following Modi and Xi meeting.
"On the issue of the India-China boundary question, the two leaders endorsed the work of the special representatives in their efforts to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement," he said.
"And the two leaders also underscored that in the meantime it is important to maintain peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region," Gokhale said.
A personal tour of a major museum in the city was given by Xi to Modi even as their informal meeting lasted longer than expected.
The tone of the trip was praised by the Chinese state media.
"Two great countries ought to have great cooperation," said The overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily while printing a four p[age commentary on Saturday. It also carried a large picture of the two leaders shaking hands.
"There is reason to believe that this Wuhan meeting will increase mutual trust, manage and control disputes, deepen cooperation and lead to a new phase in China-India relations," it said.
"It is quite clear that strategic agreement between the two countries far exceeds the specific differences, and the need for cooperation far exceeds local friction," it said.
One of the major causes that was preventing the two countries form working together was suspicion, said the official China Daily in an editorial.
"Yet neither Beijing nor New Delhi calls the other an enemy, which means both expect bilateral ties to improve. Indeed, China and India are natural partners," it said.
However, there are significant differences between the two countries despite the upbeat statements and the inviting of Xi to India by Modi for a similar informal meeting sometime next year.
Apart from the occasional tensions at the border between the two countries that stretch for 3,500 km (2,200 miles), the two countries are also bumping up against each other in the Indian Ocean. There is also tensions about Xi's signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The major contending point for India is that a section of that project traverses through Pakistan occupied Kashmir which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. Additionally, the closeness between China and Pakistan has been a cause of suspicion between India and China.
On the other hand, China is concerned about U.S. efforts to pull India into a maritime "quad" of democracies that includes Japan and Australia. India’s hosting of Dalai Lama and other exiled Tibetans is also a cause of suspicion of China.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
The meetings between the two leaders were very informal and were conducted in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It has just been months that the military of the two neighbors faced a standoff at the border for a period of 72 days.
There was enough wisdom and maturity in the two countries to be able to take care of all their differences peacefully through talks and this was agreed to by both leaders, said Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to reporters following Modi and Xi meeting.
"On the issue of the India-China boundary question, the two leaders endorsed the work of the special representatives in their efforts to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement," he said.
"And the two leaders also underscored that in the meantime it is important to maintain peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region," Gokhale said.
A personal tour of a major museum in the city was given by Xi to Modi even as their informal meeting lasted longer than expected.
The tone of the trip was praised by the Chinese state media.
"Two great countries ought to have great cooperation," said The overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily while printing a four p[age commentary on Saturday. It also carried a large picture of the two leaders shaking hands.
"There is reason to believe that this Wuhan meeting will increase mutual trust, manage and control disputes, deepen cooperation and lead to a new phase in China-India relations," it said.
"It is quite clear that strategic agreement between the two countries far exceeds the specific differences, and the need for cooperation far exceeds local friction," it said.
One of the major causes that was preventing the two countries form working together was suspicion, said the official China Daily in an editorial.
"Yet neither Beijing nor New Delhi calls the other an enemy, which means both expect bilateral ties to improve. Indeed, China and India are natural partners," it said.
However, there are significant differences between the two countries despite the upbeat statements and the inviting of Xi to India by Modi for a similar informal meeting sometime next year.
Apart from the occasional tensions at the border between the two countries that stretch for 3,500 km (2,200 miles), the two countries are also bumping up against each other in the Indian Ocean. There is also tensions about Xi's signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The major contending point for India is that a section of that project traverses through Pakistan occupied Kashmir which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. Additionally, the closeness between China and Pakistan has been a cause of suspicion between India and China.
On the other hand, China is concerned about U.S. efforts to pull India into a maritime "quad" of democracies that includes Japan and Australia. India’s hosting of Dalai Lama and other exiled Tibetans is also a cause of suspicion of China.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
