‘Important opportunity’ faces India, China, says Foreign Minister
Striking a note of reconciliation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the bilateral relationship between India and China is facing an “important opportunity”.
Speaking at the 24th meeting between the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question, Mr. Wang indirectly referred to the negative impact of the 2020 Galwan clashes and said, the “setbacks” of the recent past did not advance the “interest of the people” of both countries.
Responding to the positive sentiment from the Chinese side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) evening, announced that he will meet President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tianjin, China, and said “stable, predictable and constructive ties” between New Delhi and Beijing will help in “global peace and prosperity.”
“The setbacks we experienced in the past few years were not in the interest of the people of our two countries, and in October last year, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held an important meeting in Kazan. That meeting pointed the direction for the development of our bilateral relations and provided impetus for the proper settlement of the boundary question,” said Mr. Wang in his remarks, recollecting the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi during the BRICS summit in Russia’s Kazan.
Later in the evening, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Mr. Modi, where the Prime Minister also recounted the importance of the meeting with President Xi and said, “India-China relations have made steady progress guided by respect for each other’s interests and sensitivities.” During the meeting, Mr. Wang handed over a personal message and invitation from President Xi to the Prime Minister for the SCO summit. Mr. Modi conveyed his acceptance of the invitation to Mr. Wang, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“I look forward to our next meeting in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,” said Mr. Modi after the meeting, which was a special gesture from the Indian side to the Chinese Foreign Minister. The Ministry of External Affairs said that during the meeting, Mr. Modi emphasised the importance of a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.”