Xi and Modi ‘unusual meeting’ for China-India border talks 

Beijing said that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “candid and in-depth” discussions to reduce tensions along their disputed border following a rare face-to-face meeting between the two leaders.

Since a terrible border confrontation in the Himalayas in 2020 that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops, relations between the two largest economies in the world have been in a deep freeze.

Since then, tens of thousands of soldiers have accumulated on both sides of the border. They still exist in spite of 19 rounds of discussions between senior military officials from the two nations.

A “candid and in-depth exchange of views” took place between the presidents during their meeting on Thursday at the BRICS summit in South Africa, according to China’s foreign ministry.

According to a ministry spokesman, President Xi “emphasized that bettering China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples.”

“The two sides should handle the border issue properly and keep in mind the overall goals of their bilateral relations in order to jointly preserve peace.”

The deadly 2020 conflict took place near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which separates China’s territory from India’s Ladakh area in the Himalayas. According to India’s foreign secretary, Modi brought attention to these outstanding issues.

Vinay Kwatra told reporters on Thursday that “Modi underlined that…observing and respecting the LAC are essential for normalizing India-China relations.”

India has been concerned of its northern neighbor’s growing military assertiveness, and disagreements over the 3,500-kilometer (2,200-mile) common border between the two Asian superpowers have frequently resulted in hostilities.