Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, committing to a ‘fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable’ resolution of their border dispute.
The two leaders reaffirmed adherence to existing border agreements, referencing the 25th Round of Special Representative talks on August 25 and senior military commander-level flag meetings held September 6-7.
India and China offered differing readouts on how the boundary dispute relates to overall ties, with New Delhi maintaining that border peace is an indispensable foundation for relations, while Beijing proposed parallel, mutually reinforcing progress.
The leaders also discussed addressing structural trade imbalances, supply chain concerns and predictable market access as part of the economic agenda.
This marked Xi’s first visit to India in seven years and his first meeting with Modi since the 2020 border standoff strained bilateral ties significantly.
The two leaders referenced the 25th Round of Special Representative talks on the boundary question, held on August 25, 2026, as part of ongoing efforts to manage the dispute.
Senior military commander-level flag meetings between India and China took place on September 6-7, 2026, ahead of the Modi-Xi bilateral.
Modi and Xi agreed that both countries must take a ‘strategic and long-term perspective’ of their ties, and should not let differences become disputes.
The two leaders said stable India-China relations rested on three principles: mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.
India and China also discussed addressing structural trade imbalances, supply chain concerns and predictable market access as part of the economic component of the talks.
This was Xi Jinping’s first visit to India in seven years, and his first meeting with Modi since the 2020 border standoff significantly strained bilateral ties.
China’s readout of the meeting reportedly framed bilateral cooperation as something that could advance in parallel with resolving the boundary question, a formulation India has traditionally resisted.
PM Modi meeting President Xi Jinping, PIB/Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India
