MEA clears the air, says Modi and Xi spoke to stabilize bilateral ties in Bali last year

Addressing the weekly media briefing here in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "During the Bali G20 Summit last year, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, after the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations. There was a general discussion on the scope of stabilizing the bilateral relations". -- Reports ETV Bharat's Chandrakala Choudhary.

New Delhi:Days after the Chinese foreign ministry, after the meeting between NSA Doval and foreign minister Wang Yi in Johannesburg, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a consensus to restore bilateral ties during their meeting in Bali last year, India's Ministry of External Affairs cleared the air and said the two leaders exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize the bilateral relations.

Addressing the weekly media briefing here in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "During the Bali G20 Summit last year, Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping, after the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President, exchanged courtesies and spoke of the need to stabilize our bilateral relations. There was a general discussion on the scope of stabilizing the bilateral relations".

On Tuesday, 25 July, China's newly appointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a consensus to restore bilateral ties during their meeting in Bali last year. The claim was made in a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement issued after the meeting with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval in Johannesburg on 24th July, Monday.

Noting that India-China relations would affect their respective development and the world situation, Wang Yi urged both countries to enhance strategic mutual trust, focus on consensus and cooperation and promote bilateral ties back to a healthy and stable development path as soon as possible.

However, the Indian read out on Doval, Wang meeting in South Africa did not include any such claim, instead, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval conveyed to senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi 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.

Doval met Wang Yi, a Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the CPC Foreign Affairs Commission on the sidelines of the BRICS NSAs’ Meeting in Johannesburg.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of the ongoing PLA aggression at Eastern Ladakh. Previously, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met Wang in Jakarta and discussed the outstanding issues relating to peace and tranquillity in border areas.