India and China have decided to start a new chapter in their cooperation with the “Chennai Connect”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday after a second round of informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese President invited him for another round of talks in China and said the future leaders of both nations should carry forward the process. Since Friday, PM Modi and President Xi have spent around six hours in one-on-one talks. In their wide-ranging, free-wheeling talks, the two leaders have decided to build a new mechanism to discuss trade, investment and services. The initiative will be headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, the Foreign Ministry said.
Here are top 10 updates on the PM Modi-Xi Jinping meet:
1. Chinese President Xi Jinping has suggested that informal summits with free-wheeling discussions should be made a part of bilateral relations and “future leaders should follow it”, the foreign ministry said today. Prime Minster Narendra Modi has accepted China’s invitation for the next round of talks.
2. The 2 leaders, helped by interpreters, have touched upon a range of issues over sumptuous Tamil delicacies. “The two leaders spoke about trade and investment between the two countries. The trade deficit was also spoken about and it was concluded that there will be a new mechanism in place for trade and investment between the two nations,” foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
3. Since yesterday, President Xi and PM Modi had spent more than five hours on one-on-one talks, during which they discussed a range of issues including trade and investment, combating terror, tourism and the need to expand people to people contact.
4. “The Wuhan spirit had given a new momentum and trust to our ties. A new era of cooperation will begin today through the ‘Chennai Connect’,” PM Modi said at the delegation-level talks between the two countries. PM Modi and Mr Xi also held a one-on-one meeting at Taj Fisherman’s Cove Resort and Spa.The two leaders were seen taking a stroll along the beach front and travelled together to the meeting place in a golf cart.
5. During Friday’s talks, Xi Jinping urged both the countries to take the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations next year as an opportunity for broader and deeper cultural and people-to-people exchanges, China’s state media Xinhua News Agency reported.
6. In its response, New Delhi said, “India’s position has been consistent and clear that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. China is well aware of our position. It is not for other countries to comment on the internal affairs of India”. The government has also said the move in Jammu and Kashmir and making Ladakh a union territory is an internal matter.
7. Xi Jinping landed in Chennai on Friday afternoon in an Air China Boeing 747 aircraft to a red carpet welcome. He was given a guided tour of the world heritage site in the ancient temple town of Mamallauram by PM Modi. After the summit, he left for Nepal.
8. President Xi said the Wuhan summit “ushered China-India relations to a new stage of healthy and steady development” and “continues to produce visible progress and closer cooperation”.The two nations, he said, now enjoy a “deeper strategic communication and effective practical cooperation”.
9. Xi Jinping’s visit comes after the two sides exchanged sharp words over Kashmir following his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan three days ago. On Wednesday, a China-Pakistan joint statement said Jammu and Kashmir should be “properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.”
10. The first informal summit between PM Modi and Xi Jinping took place in China’s Wuhan, months after a 73-day face-off between the armies of the two countries in Doklam in 2017. “We had decided that we will prudently manage our differences, and not allow them to become disputes, we will remain sensitive about each other’s concerns,” PM Modi said about the summit.
