Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi that India follows an independent foreign policy, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday, adding that Beijing values PM Modi’s remarks.
China welcomes Modi’s message on foreign policy
This was also Xi’s first visit to India in seven years. Beijing also welcomed Modi’s remarks on India’s strategic autonomy. “Differences should not become disputes.
The statement from China came two days after Modi and Xi met for bilateral talks and welcomed “steady progress” in relations between the two countries. Jiakun said the “most important consensus” from the meeting was that “China and India should be partners”, according to a release by China’s ministry of foreign affairs. “Prime Minister Modi said that India has an independent foreign policy, developing relations with China is not affected by any third party and that it will not allow any force to engage in anti-China activities on its territory. China values Prime Minister Modi’s statements,” the statement said. India said on Saturday that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is the “essential basis” for improving ties with China, according to a statement from the ministry of external affairs. PM Modi also said 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. Prime Minister [Modi] highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals – mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest,” the readout said.
