PRESS RELEASE

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Xi and Modi Talk in Xiamen, Agree to Cooperation on Basis of Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

Sept. 5, 2017 (EIRNS)—Perhaps one of the most important results of the Xiamen BRICS Summit was to help pull together the China-India relationship after several months in which Indian and Chinese troops were facing off in disputed territory between China and Bhutan. China’s President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met for an hour on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit and agreed that they must work to reestablish a greater sense of mutual trust. Both sides showed a concerted effort to move beyond the dispute at Dok La/Doklam/Dong Lang and seek a new modus vivendi through a "forward-looking" dialogue, according to Indian Foreign Secretary Jaishankar.

"China is willing to work with India on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence which were put forward by both countries to improve political mutual trust, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and push Sino-Indian ties along a right track,"

President Xi said, according to Xinhua. "A healthy, stable China-India relationships is necessary." The Five Principles were enshrined in the first China-India Treaty and become the basis for the Bandung Conference in 1955.

Prime Minister Modi also expressed his satisfaction with the summit, writing in a tweet,

"Met President Xi Jinping. We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations between India and China. The various deliberations during the BRICS Summit were extremely productive. Looking forward to building on these in the times to come. I thank the Chinese government and people for their warm hospitality during the BRICS Summit."

He was particularly happy with the Summit declaration which condemned four terrorist groups based in Pakistan.