Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he had a “comprehensive” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and both of them are “strongly committed” to taking bilateral ties to “new heights”, a day after raising strong concerns over China’s move to block action against Pakistan over Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi’s release.
“I met President Xi Jinping once again, this time in Ufa, Russia where we both are attending the BRICS and SCO Summit,” Mr. Modi said in his post on the Chinese social media Weibo, akin to Twitter in China, where he had thousands of followers ever since he opened his account ahead of his visit in Beijing in May.
The two leaders met last night on the sidelines of the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits in Ufa.
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“Our meeting was very comprehensive and several issues were discussed, both about India-China ties and global affairs. Both of us are strongly committed to taking India-China ties to new heights and increasing our economic, cultural and people-to-people relations,” Mr. Modi said.
During his meeting with Mr. Xi, Mr. Modi on Wednesday “strongly” and “clearly” conveyed concerns to him over China blocking a proposal for action by the UN against Pakistan on the release of jailed Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
The two sides felt that the issue should be discussed further at the level of officials.
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He also voiced concerns over the USD 46 billion economic corridor that China is building with Pakistan as it crosses Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which India considers its part.
“Friends, I am in Ufa along with several world leaders. I am confident the BRICS & SCO Summits will be very productive and the outcomes will benefit the entire world,” he said.
Mr. Modi had also posted three photos including Mr. Xi and him shaking hands at Ufa followed by their meeting along with respective delegations.
During their talks, Mr. Xi called for proper management of differences over border issue and told Prime Minister Modi that China and India should work together to build a closer, comprehensive and firmer partnership among BRICS countries.
The two sides should properly manage and control their differences on the boundary issue and jointly safeguard peace and security in the border areas, Mr. Xi said.
This is the fourth bilateral meeting between the two leaders since their first in Fortaleza, Brazil, last July.
Great meeting President Xi Jinping again. Our talks were comprehensive & a lot of topics came up for discussion.
>pic.twitter.com/dTFw9QydNV
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
>July 8, 2015Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi visited each other’s countries and hometowns in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Mr. Xi recalled his meeting with Mr. Modi in his hometown Xi’an, where the two leaders reached important consensuses on enriching the bilateral strategic partnership and forging a closer partnership of development, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The Xi’an meeting had sent positive signals to the people of the two countries and the international community that the two major developing nations are committed to cooperating for common development, Mr. Xi said.
“Thanks to joint efforts of both sides, the agreements reached back then are now being translated into steady progress in bilateral cooperation in such areas as parliamentary exchanges, railway, industrial parks and smart city,” Mr. Xi was quoted as saying.
He also called on the two countries to make concerted efforts to maintain the positive momentum in the development of bilateral ties and open new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation.
Mr. Xi said the two countries should maintain high-level contact, strengthen multi-level strategic communication, complete feasibility study on major cooperation projects as scheduled and build flagship bilateral cooperation projects.
China is currently conducting feasibility study to build a high-speed rail between Chennai and New Delhi.
Mr. Xi suggested the two sides solidly implement China-India cultural exchange program and beef up think-tank, media and provincial level cooperation, Xinhua reported.
China and India should make joint efforts to push forward the development of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the BRICS New Development Bank and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, Mr. Xi said.
He also proposed to explore ways to effectively connect China’s Belt and Road (Silk Road) initiatives with India’s relevant development plans, in a bid to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation and common development.
While India supported the BCIM which is part of the Silk Road initiatives, China wants India’s backing for its 21st century Maritime Silk Road projects in the Indian Ocean, where New Delhi has its own security concerns.
Mr. Xi suggested that China and India, both as staunch supporters and active builders of the BRICS mechanism, work together to forge a closer, more comprehensive and firmer partnership within the emerging-market framework, so as to enable the BRICS countries to play a positive and constructive role and contribute more to world peace and development.
For his part, Mr. Modi said in recent years, India and China have further expanded their economic and trade cooperation and made steady progress in cooperation in such areas as science and technology, outer space and infrastructure.
Stressing that India welcomes more Chinese investment, he said his country stands ready to work with the Chinese side to strengthen strategic communication and coordination and properly manage their differences, including those in border issues.
The Indian side, the Prime Minister said, is willing to beef up cooperation with China under the framework of BRICS and actively participate in the construction and cooperation projects of the NDB and the AIIB, which provide more opportunities for deepening India-China interaction.
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