In what appears to mark a shift in India’s recent diplomatic stance, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping that both nations are “victims” of terrorism and should cooperate to counter the menace of cross-border terror.
During their bilateral meeting in Tianjin on Sunday, Modi raised the issue of terrorism, including the Pahalgam attacks that New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan, The Hindu reported. “The Prime Minister outlined very clearly that terrorism is a scourge both India and China have suffered from, and sought China’s support in combating it,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a media briefing after the talks.
Misri added that India expected strong references to terrorism in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) joint statement to be released Monday, though he declined to comment on Beijing’s financial and political support to Islamabad during Operation Sindoor.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, stressed the importance of building friendlier ties, framing the relationship as one of partnership rather than rivalry. “It is the right choice for both sides to be friends who maintain good-neighbourly ties, partners who enable each other’s success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together,” Xi said in his opening remarks, according to CNN International.
The Modi-Xi meeting, their first in seven years, comes at a time of rising friction between both countries and the United States. Washington has imposed steep tariffs under President Donald Trump’s trade war, while India and China also face Western scrutiny over their links with Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
