Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping discuss border dispute, China’s PoK investments
BackBack

Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping discuss border dispute, China’s PoK investments

It's the first time Xi has invited a foreign leader to his hometown

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China on Thursday. Photo: PTIPremium
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China on Thursday. Photo: PTI

X’ian/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday began a three-day visit to China from the northwestern city of X’ian, holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on issues including strengthening mutual trust between the two countries and maintaining peace on their common border.

On his first visit to China since taking office almost a year ago, Modi was warmly greeted by Xi, who set aside protocol to receive Modi outside Beijing, mirroring the Indian prime minister’s gesture in September when he received Xi in Ahmedabad.

Modi is in China on the first leg of a three-nation Asian tour.

The warm welcome notwithstanding, in talks with Xi, Modi raised India’s concerns on Chinese investments amounting to almost $46 billion in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

The investments were announced during Xi’s visit to Pakistan in April. India is opposed to the investments as some of them involve building infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir and China’s cooperation with Pakistan is an irritant in India-China relations.

According to the PTI report, Modi also raised the issue of China issuing stapled visas to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India has rejected China’s claims.

Briefing reporters after the talks, Indian foreign secretary S. Jaishankar said the “very substantive talks" between the two leaders covered subjects ranging from political, economic and global issues such as terrorism and reforms to the UN Security Council of which China is a permanent member and India is not.

“On the political side, there was a lot of discussion on strengthening trust and increasing convergence," Jaishankar said. He said the two leaders discussed the vexed boundary dispute and maintenence of peace and tranquility.

The unresolved boundary issue dates back to a brief but bitter war in 1962.

In 2003, the two countries appointed special representatives to take the talks forward but despite 18 rounds of discussions since then, there has been little progress.

Talking about the atmospherics at the Xi-Modi meeting, the third in a year between the two, Jaishankar said the two leaders were “comfortable with each other."

“So, in the sense it was building on the chemistry between the two of them which started last September," Jaishankar said. On the economic front, Modi and Xi discussed the issue of the trade deficit between the two countries, which is in favour of China to the tune of $38 billion and ways to address it.

In his opening remarks at his meeting with Modi, Xi, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party, said that this was “the first time" he had received a foreign leader in his hometown. He said he hoped Modi’s visit would push the bilateral strategic partnership to new highs, PTI reported.

“China-India relations are experiencing stable development and facing broad prospects," Xi said.

In a gesture mirroring Modi’s during Xi’s visit to India in September, Xi took Modi on a tour of the iconic Giant Wild Goose Pagoda built in 652 AD. Modi had taken Xi around Sabarmati Ashram.

On his arrival in X’ian early Thursday morning, Modi began his day with a visit to the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum which has a large collection of sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 14 May 2015, 07:58 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App