Xi-Modi summit broke 'new ground' for bilateral ties, says China

Beijing: The Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping broke "new ground" as they identified the guiding principles for bilateral ties, drew up a blueprint for cooperation and mapped out concrete measures to implement the consensus reached, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Modi met Xi last week in an unprecedented two-day 'heart-to-heart' summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to "solidify" the India-China relationship after the Dokalam standoff last year. Troops of India and China were locked in the 73-day standoff in Dokalam after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army in the disputed area. During their summit, the two leaders held a candid exchange of views in a relaxing and friendly atmosphere on topics related to international relations, China-India relations and cooperation in various areas and reached important consensus, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in her first comments on the summit held on April 27 and 28.

The two leaders "identified the important principles guiding the development of China-India relations and chartering the course and drew up a blueprint for the comprehensive cooperation between the two sides," Hua said.

"The two leaders have also mapped out concrete measures to implement such kind of consensus," she said.

The meeting was oriented towards the future and enhance the friendship and mutual trust, creating a new model for exchanges between the two leaders, she said. "It opened up new ground for India-China relations," she added. "China is willing to work with India to follow through on the important consensus reached between the two leaders, and takes this meeting as an opportunity to break new ground in the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and India," she said. Asked about reports that the two sides have agreed to establish hotline facilities between their militaries, Hua said the exchanges between the two leaders included how China and India can handle their differences. PTI