India on Saturday emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain the “essential basis” for developing ties with China , as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping welcomed “steady progress” in bilateral relations during a meeting on the margins of the Brics Summit in New Delhi.
“Differences should not become disputes. Modi and Xi also noted progress in people-to-people ties and underscored the need to promote cultural exchanges, business linkages, and greater mobility between the two countries, the statement added.
Modi emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas “remains an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations”, the external affairs ministry said in a readout. He also underlined that both sides should “observe existing agreements and understandings on border-related issues”. The two leaders “expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question proceeding from the political perspective of their overall bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples”, the ministry said. Modi and Xi welcomed the “steady progress” in India-China relations since their last meeting at Tianjin in August 2025, and reaffirmed that both countries should “take a strategic and long-term perspective of their ties”, the readout said. Prime Minister [Modi] highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” the readout said. In the context of economic and trade relations, they underlined the need to “address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access”, it said. The two leaders further agreed that both sides “must continue to expand common ground on regional and global issues, and in addressing challenges”, the readout said without going into details.
