China and India Pledge to Be 'Partners Not Rivals'

Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi.

The leaders of China and India say there is now deepening trust between them after years of tension that includes a long-running border dispute.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the port city of Tianjin. It is Modi's first time in China in seven years.

President Xi told PM Modi that China and India should be partners, not rivals while PM Modi said there was now an "atmosphere of peace and stability" between them.

According to the BBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin is also at the summit, which is attended by more than 20 world leaders, but this year overshadowed by trade wars with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil, and President Putin faces threats of sanctions for his ongoing war on Ukraine.

PM Modi announced that flights between India and China - suspended since deadly troop clashes on their shared Himalayan border in 2020 - would resume, without providing a timeline.

President Xi said that "both sides need to approach and handle our relationship from a strategic height and long-term perspective" and that "it is the right choice for both sides to be friends".

The SCO summit itself is largely symbolic but will allow leaders to air common grievances and shared interests. It comes days before a massive military parade in Beijing that will mark 80 years since the end of World War II.

There are 10 member states in the grouping - including Russia, Pakistan and Iran - and 16 dialogue partners and observers.

Putin, who is a close ally of China, arrived to a red carpet welcome in Tianjin on Sunday.

The SCO was created by China, Russia and four Central Asian countries in 2001 as a countermeasure to limit the influence of Western alliances such as Nato. This year's gathering is the largest since it was founded.



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