Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi reaffirm that China and India should be partners, not rivals
At a time when geopolitical tensions are increasingly testing international relations, dialogue between major countries is taking on particular importance. For China and India, two of the world’s most populous countries and important members of the Global South, mutual trust and cooperation can provide a foundation not only for bilateral stability but also for more sustainable international development.
On Saturday in New Delhi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit. The two sides reached important consensus that China and India should regard each other as partners. Xi said China has always approached its relations with India from a strategic and long-term perspective. He noted that he had met with Modi twice over the past two years, helping guide bilateral relations from a new starting point toward further improvement.
Institutional exchanges between the two countries have gradually resumed, the areas of cooperation continue to expand, and bilateral trade has reached a new record high, Xi said. He stressed that this hard-won progress should be cherished. Although China and India have different national conditions, Xi said, they can leverage each other’s strengths, support and help each other, and pursue common development.
Amid an unstable international environment, China and India, as the world’s two most populous countries and important members of the Global South, bear significant responsibilities. Xi called on both sides to keep the future of humanity and the well-being of their peoples in mind, promote high-quality development of broader BRICS cooperation, and make greater contributions to global peace, stability, development and prosperity.
Xi placed particular emphasis on the strategic character of China-India relations. He said China and India are partners in cooperation rather than rivals, and provide each other with development opportunities rather than posing threats to one another.
He stressed that this strategic assessment is based on the development stages of the two countries and the international situation, and serves the common interests of both countries and their peoples. Xi called on both sides to focus on development as their main common denominator while strengthening friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation. He urged them to expand people-to-people exchanges, direct air services and cooperation in other areas to build stronger public support for bilateral relations.
He also called on both sides to properly address each other’s economic and trade concerns and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral economic and trade ties. On differences between the two countries, Xi urged China and India to use political wisdom based on mutual respect and understanding. He called for parallel progress in bilateral relations and border issues, with the two areas complementing each other and contributing to peace and tranquility in border regions.
Xi also called on the two countries to promote open and inclusive multilateral cooperation. He said China and India should support each other as BRICS chairing countries, strengthen coordination within the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Group of Twenty, jointly address global challenges, and firmly uphold international fairness and justice.
Modi said he had held several productive meetings with Xi, helping put India-China relations on a positive trajectory that serves the common interests of more than 2.8 billion people in the two countries. He noted that India and China are two great civilizations that have learned from each other through exchanges for thousands of years and moved forward side by side.
Modi said India also views its relations with China from a strategic and long-term perspective. He stressed that India is ready to be a partner rather than a rival to China and to regard each other’s development as an opportunity rather than a challenge.
The Indian prime minister said his country follows an independent foreign policy and that the development of India-China relations does not depend on any third party. He also reaffirmed India’s unchanged position on issues concerning Taiwan and Xizang, saying India does not allow any forces to engage in anti-China activities on its territory.
Modi expressed India’s readiness to maintain high-level exchanges with China on the basis of mutual respect and trust, strengthen strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation and expand people-to-people exchanges. He also called on both sides to work together to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas.
India thanked China for supporting its hosting of the BRICS Summit and pledged full support for China as it assumes the BRICS chairmanship next year. Modi said India is ready to closely coordinate and cooperate with China to strengthen cooperation among Global South countries, promote a more multipolar world and global economic growth, and jointly serve as a force for stability and progress in a turbulent world.
As reported by CCTV+, the meeting between Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi demonstrated the two major Asian powers’ shared willingness to strengthen mutual trust, expand cooperation and seek common ground, viewing each other’s development not as a threat but as an opportunity for shared progress.
