Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Brazil appears to underscore the interest in both countries to upgrade mutual relations. Mr Xi, according to the report of the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, signified his willingness to work with Mr Modi to “constantly enhance the China-India partnership to a higher level and jointly safeguard our strategic period of opportunities”.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had visited India espousing similar sentiments last year, but his trip had got enmeshed in nationalistic controversies following Chinese military incursions in the Daulta Beg Oldi area in eastern Ladakh. Perhaps mindful of this nettlesome element in bilateral ties, and PLA intrusions into the Indian side even after he assumed office, Mr Modi was right to underscore the value of keeping the Line of Actual Control tranquil until a boundary settlement was reached.
It is a good sign that the frank but cordial conversation lasted double the scheduled time of 40 minutes. Mr Modi’s spirit of support to business and industry had been noted by the Chinese even when he was Gujarat chief minister and the Indian leader had visited China in that capacity earlier. With his elevation, the Chinese clearly find him a useful interlocutor, especially since the Modi government has indicated its interest in permitting Chinese investment in infrastructure-building in India on a wider scale than previously.
This looks a factor in renewed Chinese interest in India. But it is hard to overlook the fact of rising warmth in India and Japan bilateral ties also influencing Beijing’s present approach to India. Even so, if India and China ties can deepen in right earnest, it will be important not only for bilateral relations but also for regional stability, given China’s strong influence on Pakistan.
Both sides are doubtless cognisant of this. Before the top-level meeting in Brazil, China sent its foreign minister to India as Mr Xi’s special envoy shortly after Mr Modi took charge as Prime Minister. India responded with the visit of its vice-president and its Army Chief to China.
Speaking with Mr Modi, the Chinese leader did speak of a “negotiated solution to the border issues at an early date”. He also invited the PM to attend the Apec leaders’ meeting in Beijing in November, and called on India to deepen its involvement with the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at which India only has observer status. All of this reflects pro forma diplomatic courtesies at a getting-to-know meeting. The first real idea of China’s intentions on the political side can be had when Mr Xi arrives in India for a structured bilateral visit in September.
