UPDATE - Xi, Modi affirm stable China-India relations ‘contribute’ to multi-polar world

UPDATES WITH OUTCOME OF MEETING; CHANGES HEADER, DECK, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Ahmad Adil, Riyaz ul Khaliq, and Aamir Latif

ISTANBUL (AA) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday affirmed that “stable” bilateral relations “contribute” to a multi-polar world and will have a “positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.”

The two met for a formal meeting in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

The meeting came two days after Beijing and New Delhi reached an agreement to end border standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.

The leaders of the two Himalayan neighbors welcomed the agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of the border disputes, said a statement released by the Indian Foreign Ministry.

Modi underscored the “importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility.”

It added that special representatives on the India-China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to “explore a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”

The world’s two most populated nations have been engaged in a tussle along the 3,500-kilometer (2,174-mile) long LAC -- the de facto border between India and China in the Ladakh area of disputed Jammu and Kashmir -- since May 2020.

At least 24 soldiers, including 20 from India, were killed in hand-to-hand combat that year, known as the “Galwan clashes.”

However, on Monday, India announced the border pact, paving way for the two leaders to meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit which has drawn representatives from 32 countries, including 24 state leaders, according to the Kremlin.

Xi and Modi “underlined the need to progress bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges,” the statement added.

​​​​​​​"The two countries must also shoulder their international responsibility, and set an example in boosting the strength and unity of developing countries," Xi told Modi.

BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

* Ahmad Adil from New Delhi and Aamir Latif from Karachi, Pakistan contributed to this report.