At G20 Summit In Bali, PM Modi And Chinese President Xi Spoke On Need To "Stabilise" Bilateral Relations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had discussed the "need to stabilise bilateral relations" at G20 Summit in Bali, which was their first in-person meeting in public view since the start of the standoff along the Line of Actual Control in May 2020.

This was announced on Thursday for the first time, nearly eight months after the Bali summit.

During the G20 Summit in November last year, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping exchanged pleasantries at the conclusion of the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President. Although there was no detailed account of their conversation, it was captured by cameras at the event.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval recently met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in South Africa, on the sidelines of a meeting of BRICS NSAs. Following this meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry highlighted the "important consensus" reached between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping at the Bali Summit.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi reached an important consensus on stabilizing China-India relations in Bali at the end of last year.

During a press conference on Thursday, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Prime Minister (Modi) and President Xi Jinping, at the conclusion of that dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and also spoke of the need to stabilise our bilateral relations. As you are aware, we have steadfastly maintained that the key to resolution of this whole issue 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", reports Indian Express.

This response has become a standard template after more than three years of the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, where a significant number of troops, ranging from 50,000 to 60,000, are stationed.

The video footage captured a brief and relaxed conversation between the two leaders before the camera shifted focus and the transmission ended.

Despite multiple meetings between ministers and officials from both sides, no resolution to the ongoing standoff has been achieved thus far. The situation remains unresolved and continues to be a point of concern.

Earlier this week, Doval told Wang Yi that the situation along the LAC since 2020 had “eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship”.

In a meeting held in March, S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, engaged with Qin Gang, who was then the newly-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister (Wang Yi has since returned to this position).

The meeting took place during the G20 Foreign Ministers' gathering in New Delhi.

During their discussion, Jaishankar referred to the current state of the bilateral relationship as "abnormal," when they discussed the standoff.