• Modi reiterates importance of border peace, commits to ‘fair’ resolution of boundary question

• Indian premier to visit China for summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, meet Chinese President Xi

ISTANBUL/ANKARA

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that ties with China had made “steady progress.”

He made the comments after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi was received by the Indian prime minister in New Delhi.

“Glad to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi,” Modi wrote on the US social media company X.

The improvement in relations was guided by “respect for each other's interests and sensitivities,” said Modi, urging “stable, predictable, constructive ties,” which will contribute significantly to regional as well as “global peace and prosperity.”

Wang is on his first trip to India since 2022 after ties between the Himalayan neighbors spiraled downward in 2019, leading to border clashes in the Ladakh region of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir in May 2020, which left 24 rival soldiers dead.

Earlier Tuesday, the Chinese diplomat met Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval for the 24th round of boundary talks.

The trip also comes as the US-India strategic ties have witnessed a strain under US President Donald Trump's second term, as Washington has punished New Delhi with staggering 50% tariffs, accusing the world’s most populous country of “unfair trade” and “funding” Russia’s “war machine” as the armed conflict in Ukraine continues.

New Delhi has pushed back on “unjust and unfair" tariffs.

Separately, Modi’s office said in a statement that the prime minister “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility on the border, and reiterated India's commitment to a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question,” during the meeting.

Indian officials said Wang handed a message and invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Modi for the leaders’ summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tianjin later this month.

Modi thanked Xi for the invitation and conveyed his acceptance, said the Indian statement.

It added that Modi "underlined that stable, predictable, and constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional and global peace and prosperity.”

2 sides to form expert group on border affairs

Wang told Doval that relations “entered a steady development track,” with the border issue continuing to “stabilize and improve,” according to a readout by Beijing.

He said the two nations share “similar views and broad common interests,” urging both to “enhance mutual trust through dialogue and communication, expand exchanges and cooperation … for the improvement and development of bilateral relations.”

In return, Doval said that with the current challenges faced by the two nations, it is needed “to enhance understanding, deepen trust, and strengthen cooperation,” adding that India “has consistently adhered to the one-China policy,” according to the Chinese statement.

The Indian Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed to establish an expert group to “explore early harvest in boundary delimitation” as well as to set up a Working Group to “advance effective border management in order to maintain peace and tranquility,” in the border region.