Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping today held their first bilateral meeting following the over two-month standoff between the two countries. At the meeting, both countries outlined the significance of good relations between the two countries. President Xi told Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting that lasted a little more than an hour that China was prepared to work with India to seek guidance from the five principles of the Panchsheel agreement. Both sides also agreed to discuss all outstanding issues of dispute. Prime Minister Modi congratulated President Xi for successfully organising the BRICS Summit. The Prime Minister also said that India's had a positive outlook towards discussing all issues with China. China on Monday agreed to the inclusion of references to Pakistan-based terror groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. This is seen as a tactical shift in stance by the country which has so far been reluctant in calling out Pakistan for its duplicity. Top Chinese experts also believe that China could well ask Pakistan to act against the two terror groups that have been named in the BRICS joint declaration. This is another reason that the meeting between Modi and Xi is being viewed with immense interest.
As it happened:
01:10pm - Peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation "only correct choice" for China, India. Both countries should jointly safeguard peace, tranquility in border areas, Xi Jinping tells Modi, reports Xinhua
01:00pm - Xi told PM Modi that China is willing to work with India on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which were put forward by both countries, to improve political mutual trust, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and push Sino-Indian ties along a right track, reported Xinhua
12:44pm - Healthy and stable relations between China and India are in line with the fundamental interests of their people: Xi Jinping at meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports Xinhua
12:08pm - Met President Xi Jinping. We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations between India and China, says PM Modi
11:52am - Both of us (India and China) know what happened. This was not a backward-looking conversation, it was forward-looking: FS on if Doklam was raised in Modi-Xi meet
11:50am - There was a sense that if relationship is to go forward then peace & tranquility on border areas must be maintained: FS on Modi-Xi meet
11:45am - Important point made during meeting was peace & tranquility in the border area is prerequisite for further development of relationship: MEA
11:43am - Counter terrorism issues were taken up during the course of BRICS, they were not discussed in this meeting: FS Jaishankar on Modi-Xi meet
11:40am - The discussion was constructive. There was a reminder that we had agreed at Astana that we will not let differences become disputes, that was reaffirmed: FS Jaishankar on Modi-Xi meet
11:39am - Strong affirmation at the leadership level to keep the relation on a forward and positive plank: Foreign Secretary
11:38am - I would characterise the approach of the two sides as a forward-looking approach: Foreign Secretary S Jaishanker at the press briefing
11:08am - Bilateral meeting between Prime Ministewr Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping ends. Press conference by MEA to begin shortly
11:05am - A healthy and stable China-India relationship serves the interests of people in both countries: President Xi Jinping to PM Modi in Xiamen
10:57am - India and China are each other's major neighbors, we are also two of the world's largest & emerging countries: Pres Xi to PM Modi
10:56am - China is prepared to work with India to seek guidance from the five principles of Panchsheel: Chinese President XI Jinping to PM Modi
10:45am - I congratulate you for the successful execution of BRICS Summit: PM Modi at bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
10:35am - "We will have to let action speak louder than words," says Maj Gen (retd) GD Bakshi on the issue of what India can expect from talks
10:30am - India's focus going into dialogue with China will be on rebuilding ties and looking ahead after the Doklam crisis without making a mention, say sources
10:25am - Doklam issue will not figure in talks between the two countries, PM Modi likely to raise issue of terrorism with President Xi Jinping, say sources
10:23am - Bilateral meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping begins in Xiamen
09:57am - PM Narendra Modi holds bilateral meeting with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on sidelines of BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China
09:33am - Our “no strings attached” model of cooperation is driven purely by the requirements and priorities of our partner countries, says PM Modi
09:30am - Our development partnership projects are providing water, electricity, roads, healthcare, tele-medicine, and basic infrastructure in dozens of countries: PM
09:25am - At the Third IAFS in 2015, with participation of all 54 African countries, we decided to double the number of ITEC scholarships to 50,000, PM says while addressing the BRICS Emerging Markets and Developing Countries Dialogue for promoting mutually beneficial cooperation for Common Development
09:20am - India has a long tradition of partnerships with fellow developing countries, while pursuing our own aspirations for growth. Earlier this year, we launched the South Asia Satellite to benefit willing regional partners in meeting their developmental goals, PM says
09:15am - Our programmes are geared to accomplish these priority goals in a time-bound manner: PM
09:10am - I am pleased to exchange perspectives with you on shared priority of achieving comprehensive sustainable development. Recently India completed its first voluntary review of SDGs. The bedrock of our development agenda lies in the notion of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas,” says PM Modi
09:01am – “We need coordinated action and cooperation in areas such as counter terrorism, cyber security and disaster management,” says PM Modi. He was addressing the 'Dialogue of Emerging Market & Developing Countries' in Xiamen, China on Tuesday.
Developments so far:
* In a significant shift in stand, China agreed to the inclusion of Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in the BRICS joint declaration.
* Modi has personally refrained from either naming Pakistan of Pakistan-based terror at the Summit. PM Modi said BRICS contributes "stability and growth in a world drifting towards uncertainty".
* China signaled a climbdown when it reportedly agreed to the exclusion of the Doklam issue from the agenda for talks between the leaders of the two South Asian giants.
* New Delhi has indicated that its approach going into the summit was that of confidence-building and mending ties after the strains caused by the 74-day faceoff at the border.
* The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Dokalm standoff between the militaries of India and China. The two countries agreed to expeditious de-escalation of the situation just days ahead of PM Modi’s scheduled visist for the summit in Xiamen.
