Gap between Delhi, Beijing: China is silent on LAC pullback, repeats old stand on ties

Beijing also said that the conversation took place at the request of Prime Minister Modi. Indian officials were quick to counter this and said there was a pending request from the Chinese side for a bilateral meeting.

The two leaders, however, had an informal conversation in the Leaders Lounge during the BRICS Summit, sources said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the two leaders spoke at Prime Minister Modi’s request and had a “candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest”.

In a statement put out on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website, in a Q&A format, the spokesperson also said, “The two sides should bear in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and handle properly the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border region.”

Later, at a press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated the paragraph issued earlier in the day, and went on to add: “I would like to reiterate that China’s position on the China-India boundary question is consistent and clear. The boundary question is a historical issue and does not represent the entirety of China-India relations. We should place it appropriately in our bilateral relations and seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement through peaceful and friendly consultations.”

PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on Thursday. (ANI)

“Before the boundary question is settled, the two sides need to jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas. We hope to work with India to act on the important common understandings between the two leaders, increase strategic mutual trust, focus on our consensus and cooperation, remove disturbances and obstacles and advance the bilateral relations along a sound and stable track.”

Beijing’s first statement was released in the early hours of Friday, after Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra had briefed journalists about the conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

China’s statement is qualitatively different from that of India. While New Delhi talked about the agreement to work towards disengagement, Beijing reiterated its oft-repeated line of keeping the border issue and the bilateral ties separate – implying that the border issue should not impact bilateral ties.

Briefing reporters on the Prime Minister’s engagements during the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, Kwatra had confirmed that a conversation between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi took place on the sidelines of the Summit.

“In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister (Modi) highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China border area. The Prime Minister underlined that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India-China relationship.”

“In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation,” Kwatra said.

The Foreign Secretary’s remarks were perceived as efforts to reduce tensions between the two countries over the military standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 2020.

Now, all eyes are on the ground level situation at the friction points where the two sides have been discussing the plans for a limited disengagement.

In recent days, commanders of the two countries have held a series of talks to resolve issues relating to the military standoff. Since mid-July, the two sides have had a series of conversations at multiple levels — between their Foreign Ministers, National Security Advisors, Corps Commanders, Major Generals and other commanders on the ground.

This development comes a fortnight before President Xi’s likely arrival in Delhi for the G20 Summit being hosted by India on September 9-10. Modi and Xi are also likely to be present at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta from September 5 to 7, days before the Delhi Summit.

Their conversation in Johannesburg was their first in-person meeting since their brief conversation at the G20 Summit dinner in Bali in November 2022. That conversation — the first since the border standoff began in May 2020 — was initially described as a mere exchange of courtesies.

Last month, after the Chinese Foreign Ministry mentioned the “important consensus” between the two leaders at the Bali Summit, India confirmed that Modi and Xi had spoken on the “need to stabilise bilateral relations”.