China wanted bilateral meet but Modi, Xi only had informal talks: India | India News – Times of India | CPT PPP Coverage

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NEW DELHI: A day after confirming that PM Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping in Johannesburg, the government said Friday the 2 leaders only had an “informal conversation” even though there was a request pending from Beijing for a bilateral meeting.
The assertion by government sources was in response to an official Chinese foreign ministry readout that Xi spoke to Modi “at the latter’s request’’. Interestingly, the same readout shared by the Chinese embassy here didn’t mention that point about India proposing the talks.
The Chinese readout also seemed to suggest that there was a substantive engagement in Johannesburg, unlike in Bali last year where they had another informal conversation, with Xi calling for properly handling the border issue and keeping in mind the overall interests of Sino-Indian ties.
“There was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting. The two Leaders, however, had an informal conversation in the Leaders Lounge during the BRICS Summit,’’ said a government source, when asked about China’s official version of the conversation.
It’s not clear when China proposed the bilateral meeting or if it was specifically for the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. China has been keen on engaging India as it believes the border is now stable and its foreign minister Wang Yi also visited India last year. Modi and Xi last had a formal meeting in 2019 on the margins of the BRICS summit in Brasilia.
In its readout, China also said Modi and Xi had a “candid and in-depth’’ exchange of views on current China-India relations and other “questions of shared interest’’.
“President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serve common interests of the 2 countries and people, and is also conducive to peace, stability and development of the world and the region. The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border region,’’ it said.
While raising concerns about the unresolved border situation in eastern Ladakh, Modi had told Xi during their conversation on Wednesday that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential for normalisation of ties. China, however, believes the border issue should not be allowed to block forward movement in bilateral relations and that the situation along the LAC in the western sector has improved enough for the 2 countries to resume normal bilateral exchanges.
Following Xi’s remarks in the talks, the Chinese foreign ministry too said Friday that the boundary question was a historical issue and did not represent the “entirety of China-India relations”.
“We should place it appropriately in our bilateral relations and seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement through peaceful and friendly consultations,’’ it said.
The talks in Johannesburg were confirmed first by the Indian side in a media briefing by foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra, 24 hours after Modi and Xi spoke. Hours after that, China put out its own version saying it was in response to a query if the 2 leaders had a bilateral meeting.

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This article originally appeared on timesofindia.indiatimes.com by Sachin Parashar – sharing via newswires in the public domain, repeatedly. News articles have become eerily similar to manufacturer descriptions.

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