Modi and Xi seek to end tensions with solution to border dispute

India and China are seeking a mutually acceptable solution to their border dispute, the government in New Delhi said, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Indian capital on Saturday.

According to India’s Foreign Ministry, Modi stressed to Xi that peace and stability in the border areas between the two countries remained an essential foundation for the further development of bilateral relations. It is Xi’s first visit to the neighbouring country in seven years.

Ties between the two countries have been tense since border skirmishes in 2020. The two nuclear powers have long disputed a territory in the Himalayan mountain range, which Beijing regards as part of southern Tibet and New Delhi considers part of the northern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2020, fistfights and stone throwing broke out between soldiers from both sides of the border, resulting in fatalities. Last year, the two countries agreed on “peace and tranquillity” along their border in a ten-point document. They also agreed to resume the issuing of tourist visas and to allow direct flights.

Modi stressed that it was necessary for both sides to abide by the agreements and understandings reached on border issues. Both sides were determined to work towards a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” resolution of the border conflict, he said.