PM Modi, Xi Jinping Hold Bilateral Talks In Russia, First Since Ladakh Stand-Off

Kazan, Russia:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Russia today for the first bilateral meeting since 2019. Ties between India and China had taken a severe hit since the military stand-off in Ladakh as a result of Beijing’s “unilateral” actions of violating the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto boundary between the two countries.

The bilateral talks between PM Modi and Xi Jinping took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan in Russia. It happened less than 72 hours after a breakthrough in talks – both at diplomatic and military levels – ensuring that the status quo returns to what it was before May 2020, when the stand off in Ladakh began with the military clash in Galwan.

The breakthrough in the patrolling arrangement comes four years after the Galwan Valley clash and signals a move towards de-escalation in a region where both countries stationed tens of thousands of troops.

The meeting underscored the upturn in the India-China relation following a consensus on patrolling arrangement along the Line of Actual Control that had faced multiple hiccups over the last few years.

There have been a couple of brief interactions between PM Modi and Xi Jinping since the 2020 Galwan clash – on the sidelines of the the G20 summit in Indonesia’s Bali in November 2022 and the BRICS summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg in August 2023. However, these were not bilateral meetings where trade, economy and other factors were discussed.

There had been no direct flight between the two nations for four years. Visa for Chinese technicians was granted after extra layers of security and investments from companies based in neighbouring countries needed extra vetting and security clearances.

The outcome of the bilateral meeting will make it clear if trade, economic and people-to-people ties will return to normalcy.