Xi Jinping, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa and Narendra Modi (L to R) at the BRICS Summit on August 24, 2023 in Johannesburg.
Image: AFP
On the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, China and India discussed easing tensions at the common border. In fact, they could barely get close.
Etheir rivalry will not end. However, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg to further de-escalate tensions on their shared border in the Himalayas. According to Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra, the two agreed to step up efforts for a quick troop withdrawal and de-escalation. In the call, Modi also emphasized India’s “concern” regarding unresolved difficulties along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western part of the border region, Kwatra said on Thursday.
The Indian Express newspaper wrote on Friday of a possible breakthrough in tensions along the border that have lasted three years. Xi and Modi last exchanged words on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia last year. As before, this time there was also no formal discussion. Details regarding what steps should be taken to de-escalate the border were not provided. The commanders of the two countries in charge of the talks have previously spoken of withdrawing troops in the border region. China and India have stationed thousands of troops there.
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