NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met Saturday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, signaling another attempt by the rival neighbors to rebuild relations damaged by a deadly border clash six years ago.
Xi said China viewed its relationship with India from a “strategic and long-term perspective.” He called on both countries to leverage their respective strengths, support each other and pursue shared development.
The Chinese president also advocated “high-quality cooperation,” saying the two major members of the Global South should help advance a more multipolar world and contribute to global peace and stability.
Modi thanked Xi for China’s cooperation in organizing the summit. China is scheduled to host the gathering next year.
The leaders also met in China last year when Modi traveled there for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The regional group focuses on political, economic and security cooperation and was founded by China.
The meeting comes with Xi making his first visit to India since 2019, adding momentum to a cautious rapprochement between the neighboring powers six years after a deadly confrontation severely strained their ties.
At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in a 2020 clash along the harsh frontier in Ladakh’s cold desert region. The confrontation developed into a prolonged standoff across the rugged mountains, with both sides deploying tens of thousands of troops supported by artillery, tanks and fighter jets.
India and China have taken steps to reduce tensions since then, although profound mistrust continues to shape the relationship.
The two nuclear-armed countries continue to contest parts of their border. Relations are also weighed down by India’s substantial trade deficit with China, limits on Chinese investment and technology, and competing strategic ambitions across Asia. India has expanded military infrastructure along the disputed frontier, while Beijing has built roads and defensive positions on its side of the contested border.
Xi’s visit will test whether the recent diplomatic thaw can develop into a wider and more durable stabilization of ties.
Since their 1962 war, both economies have expanded significantly. China, however, has grown much faster than India and maintains a large trade surplus with its neighbor, intensifying their longstanding territorial and strategic competition.
India has tried to benefit from rising labor costs in China and Beijing’s strained relations with the United States and Europe by presenting itself as an alternative manufacturing base for international companies. New Delhi remains wary of China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative and has firmly opposed the project.
At the same time, India’s growing strategic partnership with the U.S. has raised concerns in Beijing, which views the relationship as part of efforts to counter China’s rise.
_____
Associated Press journalist Zheng Liu in Beijing contributed to this report.
