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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Sunday said that both leaders agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and cooperation between the two countries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that differences between India and China should not be allowed to turn into disputes, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Sunday.

The two leaders met earlier in the day in Tianjin, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Speaking at a special briefing, Misri said, “The common interests of the two countries outweigh their differences and the two leaders also shared a consensus on the fact that differences should not be allowed to be turned into disputes."

VIDEO | Tianjin: On PM Narendra Modi’s visit to China for Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Foreign Secretary of India Vikram Misri says, “They both agreed that the two countries were primarily focused on their domestic development goals, and in this, they were… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 31, 2025

He added that both sides recognised that India and China remain primarily focused on their domestic development goals, and in that effort, are partners rather than rivals.

“It was also an element of consensus between them that a stable and amicable relationship between India and China can be to the benefit of the 2.8 billion people who live in the two countries," Misri noted.

The two leaders also discussed the boundary issue, which has been a longstanding point of tension between the two countries. Misri said they took note of the successful disengagement that took place last year, as well as the continued peace and calm in border areas since then.

“The Prime Minister underlined the need for peace and tranquillity on the border areas for continued and smooth development of bilateral relations. There was understanding on the need to maintain peace on the borders using the existing mechanisms and avoid disturbances to the overall relationship going forward," he said.

They also expressed commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question, keeping in mind the political perspective of their broader bilateral relationship and the long-term interests of their people.

Focus On Security 

On the issue of security, the two leaders exchanged views on how to jointly combat terrorism, strengthen strategic communication, and enhance mutual trust.

Misri said that President Xi made four suggestions to boost ties, which included expanding cooperation, ensuring mutual benefit, addressing each other’s concerns, and working together in multilateral forums.

“President Xi made four suggestions to further upgrade bilateral relations, namely to strengthen strategic communication and deepen mutual trust, to expand exchanges and cooperation, to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, to accommodate each other’s concerns, and finally to strengthen multilateral cooperation to safeguard common interests and all of these were responded to positively by Prime Minister Modi," he added.

They also discussed areas such as balancing “bilateral trade, strengthen people-to-people ties, cooperate on trans-border rivers, and jointly fight terrorism."

“There was a desire to make additional progress on all of these issues on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interests, and mutual sensitivity," the Foreign Secretary said.

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Location :

Tianjin, China

First Published:

August 31, 2025, 19:39 IST

News world ‘Differences Mustn’t Become Disputes’: PM Modi, Xi Discuss Border Peace, Fight Against Terror

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