In an intriguing turn of events, China has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a significant "consensus" to restore bilateral ties during their meeting in Bali last year.
Johannesburg: This claim marks the first time either side has acknowledged the existence of substantive discussions during the Bali meeting, which took place at a dinner between the two leaders. The assertion was made in a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement issued after a meeting between National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Wang Yi, in Johannesburg.
However, the Indian statement on the Doval-Wang meeting did not mention any reference to the claimed consensus. Instead, it focused on the ongoing Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff, which NSA Doval stated had severely impacted the "public and political basis" of the India-China relationship. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) emphasized the importance of resolving the LAC situation and restoring peace in the border areas to foster normalcy in bilateral relations. Both sides acknowledged that the India-China relationship holds significance not only for the two nations but also for the entire region and the world.
The meeting between NSA Doval and Mr. Wang Yi took place shortly after Wang Yi's talks with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Jakarta during the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum’s Foreign Minister’s meeting. These series of meetings have sparked speculation about whether Prime Minister Modi and President Xi will meet at the upcoming BRICS summit in Cape Town or the G20 Summit in Delhi. However, no official confirmation of such meetings has been provided yet.
It is worth noting that Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi have not engaged in any communication since the LAC standoff began in April 2020, which led to fatal clashes in Galwan. However, during a dinner for G20 leaders in Bali last November, Modi approached Xi and engaged in a brief conversation. The MEA had downplayed the encounter at the time, but the recent Chinese MFA statement claims that the leaders discussed matters in greater detail during that meeting.
According to the Chinese statement, Mr. Wang stressed that whether India and China "support" or "consume" each other would impact their respective development trajectories and the global situation. He also expressed China's willingness to collaborate with India in building a multipolar world, considering the rise of developing countries or the Global South.
As the diplomatic dance continues, the world awaits further developments in India-China relations and potential high-level meetings between the leaders in the near future.
