BRICS Kazan summit: Modi-Xi to hold first bilateral meeting in 5 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Russian city of Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit as both countries have taken significant steps towards easing tensions along their shared border.

The meeting in the capital of Tatarstan marks the first formal interaction between the two leaders in five years and follows the two countries reaching an agreement on resuming regular patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday said at a media briefing, “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.”

Modi met with Xi last in October 2019 in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu months before the June 2020 clashes in Galwan that led to a military standoff.

The two leaders met during the Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia in 2022 and then in Johannesburg, South Africa (2023).

On October 21, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that an agreement had been reached regarding patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the India-China border area.

Foreign Secretary Misri told media persons that the agreement “is the outcome of extensive discussions over the past several weeks with Chinese interlocutors at both diplomatic and military levels.”

He noted that military commanders have been involved in negotiations aimed at addressing the tensions that have persisted since 2020.

China on Tuesday also said that it has reached a resolution with India on resolving their border conflict and will work to implement solutions. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian in a regular press briefing said, “We have reached a resolution on the relevant matter, will work with the Indian side to implement the solution. We are in close communication through diplomatic and military channels.”

The highly anticipated meeting between PM Modi and President Xi in Kazan is expected to be a pivotal moment in India-China relations. The two leaders are likely engage in discussions over the recent agreement on patrolling along the LAC and other areas of shared interest like trade.

Robinder Nath Sachdev, foreign affairs expert said, “I think it is great development for PM Modi and Xi Jinping and the conditions have now been created by improvement in the situation in the LAC. The more important thing would be now to see other concrete outcomes from this Modi-Xi Jinping meeting. The bilateral is happening and it has to have some meaningful outcomes. I think one of the outcomes that PM Modi will push for is balancing of the bilateral trade between India and China.”

“Our bilateral trade is USD 120 billion, out of which we export only USD 20 billion and we import USD 100 billion. So I think China has to lower some of its tariffs or non-tariff barriers to Indian trade so that the trade increases but at the same time, the deficit decreases,” he said.

He added, “On the LAC, a longer-term view of how to keep and preserve peace on LAC, these would be two big outcomes I would look forward to see.”

In October 2019, both leaders met for the Mahabalipuram Informal Summit in Mahabalipuram near Chennai. The meeting focused on international and regional issues, improving people-to-people contact, enhancing trade and on how to maintain peace and tranquility along the 3, 500-kilometre long India-China border.

PM Modi also took the visiting Chinese dignitary to three iconic monuments – Arjuna’s Penance, Krishna’s Butter Ball and the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram. After the cultural performance, Modi hosted a special dinner for Xi. The one-on-one discussion over dinner lasted 150 minutes.

In April 2018, PM Modi and President Xi met for Wuhan Informal Summit in China. Held from April 27 to 28, the two nations reviewed development in the relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. They also discussed their respective visions and priorities for national development, in the context of current and future international situation.

The Wuhan Informal Summit was seen as a move by the two countries to mend their ties following the Doklam stand-off in 2017, wherein troops from the two nations were engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball standoff near the Sikkim border between June to August.

The leaders then engaged in a conversation during the Bali G20 Summit in 2022 and spoke of the need to stabilize bilateral relations. “During the Bali G20 Summit, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations,” then Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Bagchi at the time also said that India has steadfastly maintained that the key to the resolution of India-China issues is to resolve the situation along the LAC on the western sector of the India-China boundary and to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

In 2023, PM Modi and President Xi held a bilateral meeting in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. PM Modi during the conversation with Xi highlighted India’s concerns at the unresolved issues along the LAC in Ladakh with the two leaders agreeing to direct their relevant officials “to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”

The then Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra had said that PM Modi in his conversation with the Chinese President underlined that the maintenance of peace in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China ties. “In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation,” Kwatra had said.

In September 2014, PM Modi hosted President Xi in his home state of Gujarat where the leaders discussed with each other the development of bilateral relations and major topics of common interest. During the Gujarat visit, the two sides had signed agreements on the establishment of an industrial park of electric transmission and “transformation equipment and forging friendly relationships between Guangdong Province of China and Gujarat of India, and sister cities between Guangzhou City and Ahmedabad.”

The border standoff between India and China began in eastern Ladakh along the LAC in 2020, sparked by Chinese military actions. This incident sparked a prolonged rise of tensions between the two nations, significantly straining their relations. The tensions have persisted since then.

The two countries have held dozens of rounds of meetings of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on border issues. On September 12, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs’ meeting.

During their discussions, Doval emphasised that maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas, as well as respecting the LAC, are essential for restoring normalcy in bilateral relations between India and China.

“The meeting gave India and China an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations. Both sides agreed to work with urgency and redouble their efforts to realise complete disengagement in the remaining areas,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.