Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to work towards resolving the long-running border dispute between their countries, India’s foreign ministry said after the leaders held talks on Saturday.
Xi’s visit to New Delhi, where he is attending the 11-member BRICS summit, is being closely watched as his first trip to India since 2019 and a significant development in the gradual improvement of relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
“Although our two countries are different in many respects, they are fully capable of complementing each other’s strengths, supporting one another, achieving mutual success and advancing together,” Xi said during his meeting with Modi, in a video released from New Delhi.
India’s foreign ministry said the leaders “expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question”.
Modi also “underlined the need for both sides to observe existing agreements and understandings on border related issues,” the ministry added.
Xi’s visit comes six years after a deadly military confrontation along the disputed border. Relations have gradually improved since then, with the two countries restoring flights, visas and high-level diplomatic contacts.
However, the territorial dispute remains unresolved, with India and China maintaining substantial military deployments along their roughly 3,500-kilometre (2,175-mile) high-altitude frontier bordering Tibet.
The Chinese president’s visit also drew protests from Tibetans in New Delhi. Dozens of protesters gathered on Friday, waving placards opposing Xi’s presence in India. Tibetans in exile, including Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, have lived in India since fleeing a Chinese crackdown in 1959.
“Differences should not become disputes,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that Modi had “highlighted that both sides must be guided by three mutuals — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest”.
Trade was another major issue discussed by the two leaders, with China now ranking as India’s largest trading partner.
According to Indian government data, bilateral goods trade reached $151 billion during the 2025-26 financial year.
“Both sides should… work hand-in-hand to promote high-quality major financial cooperation, advocate an equal and sustainable global order, and foster an economic globalisation that is open and inclusive,” Xi said.
Despite the scale of trade between the two countries, the relationship remains heavily tilted in China’s favour. India imported $131 billion worth of Chinese goods, while its exports to China stood at $19 billion, resulting in a record $112 billion trade deficit.
The Indian foreign ministry said the leaders “underlined the need to address each other’s concerns, including structural trade imbalance and supply chain issues, and facilitation of meaningful and predictable market access”.
Source: AFP
