Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 15 INDIA˨CHINA September 5, 2025 India And China Are Partners, Not Rivals, Modi and Xi Say T IANJIN, China (Reuters) -India and China are development partners, not rivals, Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Sunday, as they discussed ways to improve trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty. Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisa- tion regional security bloc, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from Iran, Pakistan and four Central Asian states in a show of Global South solidarity. Analysts say Xi and Modi are seeking to align against pressure from theWest, days after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a punitive total of 50% tariff on Indian goods, partly in response to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. Trump’s moves hurt decades of carefully culti- vated U.S. ties with New Delhi, which Washington had hoped would act as a regional counterweight to Beijing. Modi told Xi his country was comzit- ted to improving ties with China and discussed reducing India’s burgeoning bi- lateral trade deficit of nearly $99.2 billion, while emphasising the need to maintain peace and stability at their disputed border after a clash in 2020 triggered a five-year military standoff. “We are com- mitted to progressing our relations based on mutual respect, trust and sensitivi- ties,” Modi said during the meeting on the sidelines of the summit, according to a video posted on his official X account. He said an atmosphere of “peace and stability” has been created on their disputed Himalayan border and that cooperation between the two nations was linked to the interests of 2.8 billion people of the world’s two most populous countries. The nuclear-armed Asian neighbours share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. Xi said that China and India are each other’s development opportunities rather than threats, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. “We must … not let the border issue define the overall China- India relationship,” Xinhua reported Xi as saying. China-India ties could be “stable and far-reaching” if both sides focus on viewing each other as partners instead of rivals, Xi added. Ties between the nations were ruptured by the 2020 clash, in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in hand-to-hand combat, following which the Himalayan border was heavily mili- tarised by both sides. Indian Foreign Sec- retary VikramMisri told reporters later in the day in that the border situation had evolved over the course of last year, fol- lowing a patrolling agreement in October. “The situation at the border is moving towards normalisation,” he said. To a question on the U.S. tariffs, he said that Modi and Xi discussed the in- ternational “economic situation” and the challenges it created. “They tried to … see how to leverage that for building greater understanding between themselves and how to … take forward the economic and commercial relationship between India and China,” he said. The leaders also discussed expanding common ground on bilateral, regional, and global issues, and challenges like terrorism and fair trade in multilateral platforms, a statement from the Indian foreign ministry said. DIRECT FLIGHTS, TRADE CURBS Both leaders had a breakthrough meeting in Russia last year after reaching a border patrol agreement, setting off a tentative thaw in ties that has accelerated in recent weeks as New Delhi seeks to hedge against renewed tariff threats from Washington. Direct flights between both nations, which have been suspended since 2020, are being resumed, Modi added, with- out providing a timeframe. China had agreed to lift export curbs on rare earths, fertilisers and tunnel boring machines this month during a key visit to India by China’s Foreign MinisterWang Yi. China opposesWashington’s steep tariffs on India and will “firmly stand with India,” Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said this month. In recent months, China has allowed Indian pilgrims to visit Hindu and Bud- dhist sites in Tibet, and both countries have lifted reciprocal tourist visa restric- tions. “I see the meeting as a step in the di- rection of incremental improvement. The readouts indicate a lot of mixed political signalling … But there’s also a sense of the need to stabilise the relationship in the context of broader geopolitical cur- rents,” said Manoj Kewalramani, a Sino- Indian relations expert at the Takshashila Institution think tank in Bengaluru. Other long-term irritants remain in the relationship, too. China is India’s largest bilateral trade partner, but the long-running trade defi- cit – a persistent source of frustration for Indian officials – reached a record $99.2 billion this year. Meanwhile, a planned Chinese mega- dam in Tibet has sparked fears of mass water diversion that could reduce water flows on the major Brahmaputra River by up to 85% in the dry season, according to Indian government estimates. India also hosts the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader whom Beijing views as a dangerous separatist influence. India’s arch-rival Pakistan also benefits from staunch Chi- nese economic, diplomatic and military support. By a Staff Writer India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, August 31, 2025. India’s Press Information India’s Prime Minister Modi is welcomed by the Indian community upon his arrival for the Shanghai Coopera- tion Organisation (SCO) Summit at the hotel in Tianjin, China August 30, 2025. India’s Press Information Bureau National flags of China and India fly next to the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center, a venue for 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China August 30, 2025.