During his recent visit to the Russian city of Kazan, where he attended the October 22-24 summit meeting of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, Chinese President Xi Jinping also held a number of important meetings on the sidelines.
Among the most significant was his October 23 meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two men’s first formal talks since October 2019. Clashes on the two countries’ disputed border (an issue left over from the days of British colonialism) in the Galwan Valley in 2020 had led to a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. Two days before the Kazan meeting, the Indian Foreign Ministry had announced that an agreement had been reached on patrolling arrangements, which had been the immediate cause of the clash.
At the meeting, President Xi urged China and India to strengthen communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust, and facilitate each other’s pursuit of their development aspirations. He pointed out that as time-honoured civilisations, large developing countries and important members of the Global South, China and India both stand at a crucial phase of their respective modernisation endeavours.
It is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and two peoples to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of bilateral relations, he said, urging the two sides to shoulder their international responsibility, set an example in boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and contribute to promoting a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations.
For his part, Prime Minister Modi noted that maintaining the steady growth of India-China relations is critical to the two countries and peoples. It not only concerns the well-being and future of 2.8 billion people, but also carries great significance for peace and stability of the region and even the world at large.
Against a complex international landscape, cooperation between India and China, two ancient civilisations and engines of economic growth, can help drive economic recovery and promote multipolarity in the world.
The two leaders commended the important progress the two sides had recently made through intensive communication on resolving the relevant issues in the border areas. Modi made suggestions on improving and developing the relationship, which Xi agreed to in principle.
Stressing the need to ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas and find a fair and reasonable settlement, they agreed on holding talks between their foreign ministers and officials at various levels to bring the relationship back to sound and steady development at an early date.
They further agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation in multilateral fora to safeguard the common interests of developing countries and were of the view that their meeting was constructive and carries great significance. They agreed to view and handle China-India relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship, and contribute to maintaining regional and global peace and prosperity and to advancing multipolarity in the world.
India’s main communist parties were quick to voice their support for the meeting and its outcome.
People’s Democracy, the newspaper of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) wrote that:
“The economic problems confronting the Indian bourgeoisie have forced them to lobby for easing the ability to do business with China. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce, China has emerged as India’s top import source with 56.29 billion dollars’ worth of inbound shipments during the April-September period of this fiscal year. In a globalised economic world order, it is increasingly recognised that it is beneficial for both countries to increase economic cooperation. Certain industries for the production of goods like electric vehicles (EVs), smartphones, solar panels and medicine have been identified by the Indian government to transform the country into a manufacturing hub. Most of these industries require the restoration of economic relations with China.”
It concluded that, “the Modi government must take steps to expand economic relations and people-to-people exchanges, giving particular attention to getting investments in the manufacturing sector which will enhance our technology and production capacities.”
In a statement, the Communist Party of India (CPI) welcomed, “the agreement reached for complete disengagement and the resolution of issues stemming from the 2020 India-China border tensions [as] a significant and positive step forward.” Stable relations between the two countries, “will contribute significantly to the advancement of the quest for a multipolar world order.”
The CPI urged “both governments to continue working with the necessary political will to achieve a permanent solution to the border issue. This would not only strengthen the overall friendship between the two nations but also ensure lasting peace and cooperation in the region.”
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency, People’s Democracy and Solidnet.
Xi urges China, India to facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged China and India to strengthen communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust, and facilitate each other’s pursuit of development aspirations.
Xi made the remarks when meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit.
Xi pointed out that as time-honored civilizations, large developing countries and important members of the Global South, China and India both stand at a crucial phase of their respective modernization endeavors.
It is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and two peoples to keep to the trend of history and the right direction of bilateral relations, he said, urging the two sides to shoulder their international responsibility, set an example in boosting the strength and unity of developing countries, and contribute to promoting a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations.
Xi stressed that China-India relations are essentially a question of how the two large developing countries and neighbors, each with a 1.4-billion-strong population, treat each other.
Development is now the biggest shared goal of China and India, he said, noting that the two sides should continue to uphold their important understandings, including that China and India are each other’s development opportunity rather than threat, and cooperation partner rather than competitor.
He also urged the two countries to maintain a sound strategic perception of each other, and work together to find the right and bright path for big, neighboring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side.
Modi, for his part, noted that maintaining the steady growth of India-China relations is critical to the two countries and peoples. It not only concerns the well-being and future of 2.8 billion people, but also carries great significance for peace and stability of the region and even the world at large, he added.
Against a complex international landscape, cooperation between India and China, two ancient civilizations and engines of economic growth, can help drive economic recovery and promote multipolarity in the world, Modi said.
He said that India is willing to strengthen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
India will give every support for China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization presidency and strengthen communication and cooperation with China in BRICS and other multilateral frameworks, he added.
The two leaders commended the important progress the two sides had recently made through intensive communication on resolving the relevant issues in the border areas. Modi made suggestions on improving and developing the relationship, which Xi agreed to in principle.
The two sides agreed to make good use of the Special Representatives mechanism on the China-India boundary question, ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and find a fair and reasonable settlement.
The two sides agreed on holding talks between their foreign ministers and officials at various levels to bring the relationship back to sound and steady development at an early date.
The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation in multilateral fora to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
The two sides were of the view that this meeting is constructive and carries great significance. They agreed to view and handle China-India relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship, and contribute to maintaining regional and global peace and prosperity and to advancing multipolarity in the world.
An Important Step to Normalise India-China Relations
THE Indian government announced on October 21 that an agreement was reached between India and China on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This is a welcome development that hopefully would lead to the normalisation of relations between the two neighbouring countries.
The bilateral relations between India and China had deteriorated after the border clashes in Galwan valley in 2020. Both countries acted to ensure that these clashes do not lead to a full blown war. Since 2020, 31 rounds of talks were held at the military and diplomatic levels. While Corps Commanders of the two sides held military level talks, the diplomatic level talks were held under the aegis of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs.
The talks moved to a decisive phase with the intervention of the political leadership, which realised the necessity of restoring normal relations. Prime Minister Modi reflected this position when he stated in April that ‘stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important for not just our two countries but the entire region and world’. Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, twice in the space of two months, July and August. In September, NSA, Ajit Doval, met Wang Yi in St Petersburg, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS+ National Security Advisers meeting. This was followed by two back-to-back meetings of the WMCC. Hence as Jaishankar has stated, the present agreement is a ‘product of very patient and very persevering diplomacy’, which is the correct path for the resolution of disputes between countries.
All these diplomatic efforts paved the way for the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, which is in session in Kazan, Russia. This meeting is significant because it is the first time that the two leaders have had a bilateral meeting since the border standoff in 2020. Both sides agreed to take steps to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations.
The economic problems confronting the Indian bourgeoisie has forced them to lobby for easing the ability to do business with China. According to the data of Ministry of Commerce, China has emerged as India’s top import source with 56.29 billion dollars worth of inbound shipments during the April-September period of this fiscal year. In a globalised economic world order, it is increasingly recognised that it is beneficial for both countries to increase economic cooperation. Certain industries for the production of goods like electric vehicles (EVs), smartphones, solar panels and medicine have been identified by the Indian government to transform the country into a manufacturing hub. Most of these industries require the restoration of economic relations with China.
The current negative stance to Chinese investments in the manufacturing sector through joint ventures must change. The rejection of a one billion dollar investment by the Chinese giant BYD, which is the world’s largest producer of electrical vehicles, through a joint venture with an Indian company in 2023 was a short-sighted step. The setting up of a plant to manufacture electric vehicles and batteries would have helped India access latest technology and production processes.
The need for normalisation of relations between the two countries was also felt due to the fast changing geo-political situation. The war in Ukraine and Israeli aggression on Gaza and West Asia are having a severe impact on the supply of resources, trade routes and also the relations between countries. Many countries are realising the toxicity of putting ‘all their eggs in one basket’ – the US. In this background the blocs like BRICS+ are gaining importance and many countries are openly expressing their desire to join such groupings. Saudi Arabia and Iran, regional powerhouses in West Asia have recently been made members of this grouping. India cannot be an outlier in this group, with these geo-political changes taking place around it. It is hence natural to maintain good relations with the founding members of the bloc, rather than have an antagonistic relationship.
Following the border clashes in 2020, Indian government had further strengthened its ties with the US. It has signed various defence cooperation agreements, including real-time intelligence sharing regarding the India-China disputed border. That includes a more than 3 billion dollar deal for India to purchase 31 armed Guardian drones to track troop movements on our Himalayan border. India is a member of the US-led Quad grouping, which includes Australia and Japan. The RSS paper The Organiser (September 22, 2024), also commented that in the background of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the unreliability of its policy positions, particularly if Donald Trump once again becomes the president, it would be prudent for the government to normalise relations with China.
India and China share a long border of more than 3,400 kilometres. A major portion of the border is not properly demarcated and has been the reason for a long-standing dispute between the two countries. What is required now is to revive the mechanisms to address the gamut of disputes on the India-China border. The 1993 Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement and the 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement must be built upon. At the same time, the Modi government must take steps to expand economic relations and people-to-people exchanges, giving particular attention to getting investments in the manufacturing sector which will enhance our technology and production capacities.
CP of India, Statement on meeting between PM Modi and President XI Jinping
The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India (CPI) welcomes the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China, held on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan. The agreement reached for complete disengagement and the resolution of issues stemming from the 2020 India-China border tensions is a significant and positive step forward.
The CPI believes this marks the beginning of a constructive approach to addressing the longstanding border disputes between the two countries. We are hopeful that both armies will revert to their pre-April 2020 positions, creating an environment of trust among the people of India.
The CPI is of the opinion that stable bilateral relations between India and China will have a profound and positive impact on current global geopolitical developments. Furthermore, such stability will contribute significantly to the advancement of the quest for a multi-polar world order.
We urge both governments to continue working with the necessary political will to achieve a permanent solution to the border issue. This would not only strengthen the overall friendship between the two nations but also ensure lasting peace and cooperation in the region.
