PM Modi raises Pak cross-border terror with China, Xi extends support to India

TIANJIN: Maintenance of peace and tranquillity at the border is like an insurance policy for India-China ties, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed this position to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

The two leaders held wide-ranging talks earlier in the day with a focus on mending and rebuilding the bilateral relations that came under severe strain following the over four-year border standoff in eastern Ladakh that ended in October last year.

Foreign Secretary Misri, elaborating on talks between the two leaders on the margins of the SCO summit, said PM Modi mentioned the challenge of cross-border terrorism and pitched for extending support to each other to combat it as both India and China have been impacted by the menace.

“We have received understanding and cooperation from China as we deal with the issue of cross-border terrorism in context of the ongoing SCO summit,’’ he said at a media briefing.

“All I will say without going into specifics is the issue was discussed, raised by the Prime Minister. He outlined his understanding very crisply and specifically. He outlined the fact that this is the scourge that India and China are both victims of,” Misri told reporters.

“He asked for China’s support on this issue -- the Chinese have expressed their support,” he said.

As the all-weather ally of Pakistan, China had initially not mentioned Pahalgam in the joint statement at the SCO meet in June and India had refused to sign it. Instead of mentioning the April 22 attack on Kashmir’s Pahalgam, China had mentioned incidents in Balochistan in the statement instead, tacitly suggesting Indian involvement.

But following the imposition of US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariff on India - 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and 25 per cent over India’s purchase of Russian oil - India and China have hit reset on bilateral relations and the dragon and the elephant have been matching steps.

Today the foreign ministry said PM Modi had noted that India and China both pursue strategic autonomy, and their ties should not be seen through a “third country lens”.

The foreign secretary said Modi and Xi spoke about their respective principles for bilateral ties during their talks and that their positions are expected to help guide the future works in the relations.

It was an element of consensus that stable and amicable India-China relationship can benefit 2.8 billion people of the two countries, he said.

President Xi made four suggestions to further upgrade bilateral, Misri said

The suggestions are: to strengthen strategic communication and deepen mutual trust, to expand exchanges and cooperation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, to accommodate each other’s concerns, and finally to strengthen multilateral cooperation to safeguard common interests, Misri said.

“All of these were responded to positively by Prime Minister Modi,” he said. PM Modi also underlined the need for peace and tranquility in border areas for continued and smooth development of ties, Misri added. The foreign secretary said the two leaders were of the view that differences between India and China should not be allowed to be turned into disputes.With Agency Inputs