PM, Xi To Hold Bilateral Meet At BRICS, Days After Border Breakthrough

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping — their first since the 2020 Galwan clash — on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said. The meet will underscore 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.

Amid speculation about renewed ties, Mr Misri announced that the bilateral was on. “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting held between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

There has been only one formal meeting between the two leaders since the 2020 Galwan clash. That was held on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa’s Johannesburg in August 2023. There has also been a brief informal interaction during the G20 summit in Indonesia’s Bali. 

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

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 arrangement, which would involve a return to the pre-2020 system, is also a move to stabilize the situation and work as a confidence-building measure between New Delhi and Beijing. 

Indian and Chinese troops had clashed in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, amid a major escalation along the Line of Actual Control. Both sides had sustained casualties, which had led to tension in bilateral ties.

While a gradual de-escalation was effected, a return to the pre-Galwan status had proved elusive. 

Besides bilateral relations, it had also led to strain in other areas. 

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.