New Delhi/Hamburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping “had a conversation on a range of issues” separately at the Brics leaders’ informal gathering in Hamburg, hosted by China on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the external affairs ministry said on Friday even as the two leaders praised the contribution of each other’s country towards the Brics forum.
It is unclear whether the contentious Doka La faceoff at the border found any mention during the conversation.
Later, a report by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said President Xi had called on the Brics countries to “push for peaceful settlement of regional conflicts and disputes, and to consolidate the role of the G20 mechanism as the premier platform for international economic cooperation”.
A photograph put out by the MEA of the Modi-Xi “conversation” on a social networking site showed the two leaders standing and shaking hands, with some Chinese officials looking on with grim faces.
While Mr Modi was shown greeting President Xi warmly, the Chinese President put on a polite half-smile.
