 "Narendra Modi with Xi Jinping")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took up with Chinese President Xi Jinping the two issues that have troubled India-China bilateral relations in recent past – Beijing stalling New Delhi’s bid to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and putting on hold India’s efforts to get the UN to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist.
Modi and Xi met here on the eve of the BRICS Summit. Later, the PM also had a meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma.
On India’s membership of NSG, Swarup said Modi and Xi discussed it “briefly”. He said India hopes to “narrow down differences”. One round of bilateral discussions on the issue has already taken place. Xi promised a second round soon.
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Regarding terrorism, Modi said no country was immune to the scourge. In the context of China putting a hold on India’s efforts to have UN designate Azhar as a terrorist, Modi said the two countries cannot afford to have any differences on terrorism. The Indian PM urged Xi that the two neighbours “increase their coordination to look for common ground” on the issue.
Swarup said “both sides recognised terrorism as a key issue” and it was a scourge not only for the two countries, but the entire region. The Chinese President called for strengthening India-China dialogue on this issue.
The Chinese national security advisor is scheduled to visit India in the coming weeks. Xi agreed that terrorism and violence have increased.
He pointed to the threat of ISIS and asked for strengthening counter-terrorism efforts by both countries and that the two must maintain strategic communication.
Apart from terrorism, Xi and Modi also discussed improved bilateral trade and economic ties and recognised that India-China “commonalities far outweighed the differences”. On imbalance of trade, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the Chinese side was aware of the trade deficit India faces in relation to China. He said the two sides did talk about market access to Indian goods in China and called for trade barriers to come down. He said the Chinese side asked India to suggest products manufactured here that could be competitive in the Chinese market.
Swarup said one way to balance trade was to increase Chinese investments in India, which would not only create employment here but also produce goods for both the domestic as well as the Chinese market. Xi clearly conveyed to Modi that Chinese companies are interested in investing in India as they recognise the ready potential of the market and the Chinese government would encourage this. He spoke of the potential for increased cooperation in railways, industrial parks, vocational training and information and communications technology.
On Thursday, Beijing had said its positions on both the issues of Azhar and India’s membership to NSG remained unchanged.
