A day ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China emphasized on the need for “peace and cooperation”, not “conflict and confrontation”. In a statement by the Chinese President hours after PM Modi touched down in Xiamen to attend the meeting of the emerging nations grouping, Jinping stressed on taking a holistic approach to fighting terrorism in all its forms as the need of the hour.
"People around the world want peace and cooperation, not conflict or confrontation," he said in his address at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum as the annual summit of the five-member grouping, comprising Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa.
“We, BRICS countries, should shoulder our responsibilities to uphold global peace and stability. Peace and development both reinforce each other,” he said.
All eyes are on the meeting between Jinping and Modi on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday afternoon, which comes barely days after an end to the 74-day standoff between the militaries of India and China.
Addressing the gathering Sunday, Xi further reiterated that BRICS nations were all for peace and development.
“The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, and the zero sum game are rejected, and peace, development and win-win cooperation have become the shared aspiration of all people… BRICS cooperation is a natural choice as we all desire peace and development,” he said, months after the end to the 10-week long diplomatic crisis triggered after Chinese troops attempted to build a road at Doklam.
Prime Minister Modi, who reached Xiamen on Sunday, said he is looking forward to “productive discussions and positive outcomes” at the Summit. Sources in New Delhi have hinted at normalizing the relationship with China after the Doklam crisis.
India’s approach, according to sources, will be on repairing the damage done to the relationship, and would dwell on “confidence-building” measures. Efforts will be made to “bury” the incident that has cast a shadow on the ties, reports said.
The indications from Beijing have also been positive. "Given the difference in national conditions, history and cultures, it is only natural we may have some differences in pursuing our cooperation," President Xi said in his address to the business forum.
He also touched upon the Belt and Road Forum, a key difference between India and China and said the initiative was not a tool to advance any geopolitical agenda but a platform for practical cooperation.
China, an all-weather ally of Pakistan, also touched upon the threat of terrorism and stressed upon a holistic approach to resolving the issues. Xi said the threat of terrorism has cast a "dark shadow" on the world but stressed that "resolving geopolitical hotspot issues was the need of the hour".
"Incessant conflicts in some parts of the world and hotspot issues are opposing challenges to world peace. The intertwined threat of terrorism and lack of cyber security among others have cast dark shadow on the world," he said.
"I am convinced that as long as we take a holistic approach to fighting terrorism in all its forms, and address both its symptoms and root causes, terrorists will have no place to hide," Xi added.
(With agencies)
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