Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the 12th (local time) that the two countries are cooperative partners rather than competitors and should pursue common development.
He also emphasized that they will work together to resolve border issues, which have strained bilateral relations.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, along with AFP, AP, and Reuters, reported that during his summit with Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi—marking his first visit to India in seven years to attend the 18th BRICS summit—President Xi stated, "Both sides should jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas."
India's Ministry of External Affairs also stated in a post-summit statement that the two leaders "expressed their commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the border question."
President Xi added that he has viewed and developed China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, noting that his two previous meetings with Prime Minister Modi over the past two years have guided bilateral ties from a "fresh start" to a "new leap forward."
He also mentioned the need to promote stable development in economic and trade relations between the two countries, increase people-to-people and cultural exchanges as well as direct flights, and substantially improve public opinion foundations regarding both nations.
Although China is currently India's largest trading partner, bilateral trade relations are heavily tilted in favor of China.
Prime Minister Modi expressed gratitude for China's cooperation regarding the hosting of this BRICS summit.
Prime Minister Modi continued, "We hope to be partners, not competitors, with China, and view each other's development as an opportunity rather than a challenge."
According to Xinhua's report, Prime Minister Modi stated that India's policies and positions regarding Taiwan and Tibet-related issues remain unchanged, and that India will not allow any forces to engage in anti-China activities on its soil.
Relations between China and India deteriorated sharply following a deadly clash in the border region in 2020, but they have recently been accelerating efforts to improve ties through continued summit contacts and talks between diplomatic and security authorities.
President Xi and Prime Minister Modi held talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia, in 2024, and met again last year at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China.
While exchanges have expanded recently through the resumption of direct flights, the fundamental territorial issue remains unresolved.
The two countries have deployed large-scale troops along the roughly 3,500-kilometer high-altitude border in the Himalayas.
Earlier the previous day in New Delhi, dozens of Tibetans staged a protest opposing President Xi's visit.
BRICS was originally established as a political cooperation mechanism among Brazil, Russia, India, and China. It has since expanded its scope into an emerging-market-focused multilateral consultative body as South Africa joined, followed successively by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
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