It is definitely a solid consensus that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet soon on the border dispute. But warmth in India-China relations is still a long way off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met during the BRICS Plus summit in the Russian city of Kazan. This was the first formal meeting of the two after five years. There were talks between the two and they shook hands publicly. Whatever symbolic importance it may have, in terms of substance nothing concrete was achieved in these talks. As far as symbolism is concerned, it has two aspects. One is about mutual relations between the two countries. In this sense, this meeting has strengthened the possibility of stability in mutual relations. The second aspect is that of the larger BRICS platform, for which the conflict in India-China relations made it difficult to send the message it wanted to give to the West.
The message is, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, that the countries of the Global South are no longer ready to accept the dominance of the West over the world for five hundred years. From this perspective the meeting of Modi and Xi is an important event. It is not a coincidence that the picture was widely shared on social media by BRICS supporters, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding Modi’s hand with one hand and Xi’s hand with the other. However, as far as India-China relations are concerned, both the leaders could only confirm the agreement for border patrolling announced between the two countries three days ago.
Modi said, “Maintaining peace and stability on the border should be our priority. “Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity must remain the foundation of our relations.” On the other hand, Xi emphasized on peace and stability on the border. A solid consensus was definitely reached that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi would meet soon to take forward the broader question of resolving the border dispute. From this perspective, it is definitely satisfactory that the ice in the relations between the two countries has finally melted. But warmth in relationships is probably still a long way off.