Wuhan, April 28 (Hindustan Times/newsin.asia): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday suggested to the Chinese President Xi Jinping that an informal Sino-Indian summit of the kind presently on in Wuhan, be held in India in 2019, and invited Xi to attend it.
Xi responded by saying that more summits in this format should be held.
“I hope such informal summits become a tradition between both the countries. I’ll be happy if, in 2019, we can have such [an] informal summit in India,” Modi said.
Modi said cooperation between India and China is essential to maintain peace and stability around the world and offered to host the next informal summit between leaders of the two Asian giants.
Modi said he hoped his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the central Chinese city of Wuhan would open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The leaders are meeting for two days of candid talks, mostly without aides, in an effort to reset a relationship that was hit by the military standoff in Doklam, at the India-China-Bhutan trijunction, nearly eight months ago.
Following a one-on-one meeting earlier in the day at Hubei provincial museum in Wuhan, Modi and Xi were joined by small delegations for further talks. The delegation-level talks were expected to last for 30 minutes. Instead, they went on for two hours, an indication that both sides were keen on detailed discussions before Modi and Xi engage in three one-on-one conversations on Saturday.
“We should look at the big picture of China-India relationship from the strategic angle and ensure our relationship continues forward in a positive direction. Friendship between the two countries should continue to grow like Yangtze and Ganges flowing forward forever,” Xi was quoted as saying by state-run CCTV.
“Looking ahead, we see a fast pace and bright future for China-India cooperation,” he added.
(The featured image at the top shows Modi-Xi informal one on one summit with only the translators were allowed. April 27, 2018)