Xi and Modi Meet in New Delhi, Agree China and India Should Be Partners

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a candid and in-depth exchange of views in New Delhi on Saturday, reaching what both sides described as an important consensus that China and India should be partners.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.

Xi said China has consistently approached its relationship with India from a strategic height and with a long-term perspective. He noted that he and Modi have met twice in the past two years, steering bilateral ties from a fresh start toward further improvement.

According to Xi, institutional exchanges between the two countries have gradually resumed, the list of cooperative areas has kept expanding, and bilateral trade has touched a new record. He described this progress as hard-won and worth safeguarding.

Acknowledging that the two nations have different national conditions, Xi said they can draw on each other's strengths, support one another and pursue common development. He stressed that as the world's two most populous countries and important members of the Global South, China and India bear significant responsibilities amid a turbulent international landscape.

Xi called on both sides to promote high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation and contribute positive energy to global peace, stability, development and prosperity. He underscored the need for an objective and rational strategic perception, stating that China and India are partners for cooperation rather than rivals, and that they offer each other development opportunities rather than threats.

He urged the two sides to treat development as their greatest common denominator, strengthen friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation, and expand collaboration in people-to-people exchanges and direct flights. Xi also called for balancing each other's economic and trade concerns to ensure sound and stable ties.

On the border question, Xi advocated drawing on political wisdom, mutual respect and understanding to overcome disruptions, and pursuing parallel progress in bilateral relations and border issues so that the two tracks reinforce each other and peace and tranquility are maintained in border areas.

He further urged coordination within multilateral frameworks including the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Group of 20, and support for each other's BRICS chairmanship.

Modi said he has held several productive meetings with Xi that have guided India-China relations in a positive direction, serving the interests of more than 2.8 billion people in both countries. He noted that the two major civilizations have learned from each other through exchanges over thousands of years.

India, Modi said, always views its relations with China from a strategic height and a long-term perspective, and is willing to be a partner rather than a rival, treating each other's development as an opportunity rather than a challenge. He affirmed that India follows an independent foreign policy and that its ties with China are not subject to influence from any third party.

Modi stated that India's policy and position on issues related to Taiwan and Xizang remain unchanged, and that India does not allow any force to conduct anti-China activities on its soil. He expressed readiness to maintain high-level exchanges based on mutual respect and trust, strengthen strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

The two sides, he added, should work together to safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas. Modi thanked China for its support during India's hosting of the BRICS summit and said India will fully back China's chairmanship next year. He also expressed India's willingness to coordinate closely with China to strengthen cooperation among Global South countries, promote a more multipolar world and global economic growth, and serve as a force for stability and progress.