PM Modi and Xi Jinping to meet at BRICS tomorrow, first time since border breakthrough

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said. The meeting will underline the improvement in India-China ties after a consensus was reached on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control, which had hit several roadblocks in the past few years.

“I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit tomorrow,” news agency ANI quoted Mr Misri as saying.

The two leaders are currently in Kazan, Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Lula da Silva and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa are also attending the summit.

The breakthrough in patrolling arrangement comes four years after the Galwan Valley clash and is a step towards easing tensions in the region where the two countries have deployed tens of thousands of troops.

The arrangement, which will involve a return to the pre-2020 arrangement, is also a step to stabilise the situation and serve as a confidence-building measure between New Delhi and Beijing.

Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, amid a major standoff along the Line of Control. Both sides suffered casualties, straining bilateral ties.

While tensions gradually eased, a return to the pre-Galwan status quo proved elusive.

Apart from bilateral ties, it also created tensions in other areas.

There were no direct flights between the two countries for four years. Visas for Chinese technicians were granted after additional security layers and investments from companies from neighbouring countries required additional checks and security clearances.