What PM Modi, Xi Jinping spoke about after shaking hands at 2022 G20 Dinner, confirms MEA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had exchanged courtesies and spoke on the need to stabilise the bilateral relations at a dinner during the G20 summit in Bali last year in November, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Thursday, July 27.

Two days ago, the Chinese foreign ministry following a meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Johannesburg claimed that Xi and PM Modi had reached an important consensus on stabilising bilateral ties at the interaction on the margins of the G20 Summit last November.

At a weekly press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “During the Bali G20 summit last year, foreign secretary [Kwatra] had held a briefing and said that Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, at the conclusion of that dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and also spoke of the need to stabilise our bilateral relations.”

"As you are aware, we have steadfastly maintained the key to the resolution of the whole issue is to resolve the situation along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) on the Western sector of the India-China boundary and to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas," he added.

This was the first time they ( Xi Jinping and PM Modi ) publicly interacted since the border conflict between India and China began in May 2020. NSA Ajit Doval met Wang on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs' meeting in Johannesburg on July 24.

Situation at the India-China boundary since 2020 eroded strategic trust: Doval

In its statement on the meeting, the MEA said Doval conveyed that the situation along the LAC in the western sector of the India-China boundary since 2020 had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship. It said the NSA emphasised the importance of continuing efforts to fully resolve the situation and restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas so as to remove impediments to normalcy in bilateral ties.

"The two sides agreed that the India-China bilateral relationship is significant not only for the two countries but also for the region and world," the MEA said on Tuesday.

When asked whether the Chinese president would attend the G20 summit in Delhi, Bagchi said India is making all efforts and preparations for its success with the participation of all invited leaders. On India's proposal to make the African Union a permanent member of the G20, he said, "We hope this does happen." However, he added that it would be premature to say anything specific on the matter.

India and China have been engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since April-May 2020. The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. The government refers to eastern Ladakh as the Western sector. The relationship between the two nations experienced a sharp decline after a violent confrontation in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. This event was the most severe military conflict between the two nations in many years.