Chinese daily Global Times on Monday recognised Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s efforts to improve relations with China despite past tensions.
The publication featured an article with insights from Sino-Indian experts, commending PM Modi’s advocacy for dialogue and cooperation during his conversation with MIT researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman.
Experts interpret PM Modi’s statements as a practical stance towards India-China relations, recognising the simultaneous existence of cooperation and competition.
“Modi’s remarks underscore the Indian government’s current pragmatic approach to advancing China-India relations, building on the positive momentum since the Kazan summit of the leaders. His remarks align with the broader trend of bilateral ties returning to a path of stable and healthy development,” Global Times quoted director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University Qian Feng.
Qian told Global times that China-India relations made positive strides with both sides implementing the important consensus since the meeting in Kazan, strengthening exchanges at all levels and practical cooperation, resulting in a series of positive outcomes.
In December 2024, both nations conducted the 32nd WMCC meeting in New Delhi, agreeing to maintain diplomatic and military communications to preserve border area stability.
According to Qian, the border situation has stabilised after years of tension. He suggested that whilst future negotiations might be prolonged, both countries are prepared for the next phase.
This follows PM Modi’s statement about fostering ‘healthy and natural’ competition between India and China whilst preventing disagreements from escalating.
Speaking on India-China relations during the podcast with Lex Fridman, PM Modi highlighted the deep historical ties between the two nations and underscored the need for dialogue over discord.
“Our focus is to ensure that differences don’t turn into disputes. Instead of discord, we emphasize dialogue,” PM Modi said, adding that the recent border tensions are being addressed to restore normalcy. Addressing past conflicts, including the 2020 border standoff, PM Modi acknowledged the tensions but noted that his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has led to progress.
“After my meeting with President Xi, we have seen a return to normalcy at the border. We are working to restore conditions to how they were before 2020,” he said.
Earlier, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had also offered an olive branch to India after he said that the “boundary question” and specific differences between India and China must not dictate the bilateral relations between the two countries.
While addressing his annual press conference in Beijing, Yi said that Indo-China relations made positive strides over the past year after the successful meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia.
“As two ancient civilisations, we have enough wisdom and capability to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas pending a fair and reasonable solution to the boundary issue,” Yi said.
“We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question or specific differences to affect the overall picture of our bilateral ties. China believes that as the largest neighbours, both countries should be partners in each other’s success,” he added.