'Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, Mutual Sensitivity' Basis for India-China Ties, Modi Tells Xi In Russia

As India and China seek to bring a thaw in their frozen ties, both sides have decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on the boundary question to ensure restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas even as friction points like Demchok and Depsang have been resolved.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2024 that took place in Kazan, Russia. During the meeting that took place between both leaders after a gap of five years, PM Modi said “mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity” should be the basis of the bilateral ties between both neighbours even as they decided to resume the Special Representatives talks on the boundary question.

The Special Representatives talks on the boundary question, popularly known as the SR-level dialogue mechanism, was institutionalised in 2003 after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China. India’s SR is National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart is Foreign Minister and Politburo Member Wang Yi, who is Beijing’s SR.

“Mutual Trust, Mutual Respect, and Mutual Sensitivity should continue to be the basis of our relations. Today we have got an opportunity to discuss all these issues. I am confident that we will talk with an open mind, and our discussion will be constructive,” Modi told Xi during the bilateral meeting.