Tibetan President-in-exile welcomes PM Modi-President Xi meeting; cautions on trusting China

Tibetan President-in-exile Penpa Tsering welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasising that any improvement in relations between the two nations contributing to peace is appreciative.

While speaking with ANI, Tsering said, “I think from the very beginning, when PM Modi came into the office, he tried his best to build relations with China. His Holiness, the Dalai, Lama and Tibetan people have always appreciated good relations between neighbours, between countries, and between people, and we believe in nonviolence and peaceful coexistence…”

He added, “So this (bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Xi), I would say is a good development because any relationship that is improving, that is leading towards more peace is definitely appreciative…”

While acknowledging the benefits of improved India-China relations, Tsering expressed scepticism about China’s reliability and said that “it is difficult to trust China.”

He said, “It’s very difficult to comment when it comes to China and it’s difficult to trust China. So, if China proves that they can carry through with the talks that they had with India, then it is an improvement on their behalf, on their behaviour…”

Notably, on Wednesday, PM Modi met President Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan and welcomed the agreement between the two countries earlier this week on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

During the meeting both leaders underlined the need to progress bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges. PM Modi welcomed the recent agreement “for complete disengagement and resolution of issues” that arose in 2020 in the India-China border areas and underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility.

PM Modi said that the India-China relationship is important not only for the people of the two countries but also for global peace, stability and progress.

“We are having a formal meeting after five years. We believe that the India-China relationship is very important not only for our people but also for global peace, stability and progress. We welcome the consensus reached on the issues that have arisen in the last four years on the border. Maintaining peace and stability on the border should remain our priority. Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity should remain the basis of our relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting in Kazan along the sidelines of the BRICS Summit was the first structured interaction between the two leaders in five years and followed the two countries reaching an agreement on Monday on resuming regular patrolling along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.