- By Aalok Sensharma
- Sat, 12 Oct 2019 06:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Mamallapuram | Jagran News Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met again on Saturday and held ‘one-on-one’ talks. After the five and half hour one-on-one talks with the Chinese President, PM Modi said that a new era of cooperation will begin on Saturday in Sino-India ties through the ‘Chennai connect’.
The Prime Minister also noted that India and China were economic powers during most of the last 2000 years and were returning to stage gradually.
“The Wuhan spirit had given a new momentum and trust to our ties. A new era of cooperation will begin today through ‘Chennai Connect',” said PM Modi.
Speaking about the strategic communication between the two nations, PM Modi said that it has increased after the first informal summit in Wuhan.
In Pics | PM Modi, Xi Jinping’s informal summit in Mamallapuram
“We had decided to prudently manage differences and not to allow them to become disputes. We had decided that we will be sensitive towards each other's concerns,” he said.
The one-on-one talks between the two leaders lasted for an hour. The one-on-one talks was held at the Fisherman's Cove resort. The two leaders took a stroll along the beach front and were seen having an engaging discussion. Earlier, Modi and Xi came together to the venue in a golf cart.
President Xi arrived in India on Friday and held a two-and-half-hour “open and cordial” one-on-one discussion over dinner. The two leaders vowed to jointly combat terrorism and radicalisation, and expand bilateral trade and investment.
"This was quality time that the two leaders spent together one-on-one,” said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale after the meeting adding that the two leaders also deliberated on trade and economic issues with a focus on identifying new areas for investment and enhancing trade volume and value of two-way trade.
PM Modi, who was dressed in a Tamil attire of Veshti (Dhoti), white shirt and an ‘angavastram', also took the Chinese President for a guided tour of the famous world heritage sites of Arjuna's Penance, Krishna's Butterball, the Pancha Ratha and Shore temple.
“The free flowing nature of the informal summit at the UNESCO world heritage site will continue and deepen contacts at the highest level and guide the future trajectory of India-China relationship,” MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
Xi’s meeting with PM Modi is significant as it comes against the backdrop of a heated exchange of words between the two countries over Jammu and Kashmir after India revoked the special status of the state.
The Chinese President recently met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, after which a joint statement said that China is paying ‘close attention’ to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and that the issue should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the ‘UN Charter’.
However, India retorted to Jinping's remark on Kashmir and said that its “not for other countries to comment on New Delhi’s internal affairs”.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale after the meeting ended said that the Kashmir issue was not discussed between the two leaders as India’s position is clear that it is an ‘internal matter’.
“There was new focus on people to people relations. It was decided that public of both countries must be brought in the relationship. Ideas were exchanged on this,” he said.
He further said that a new mechanism will be established to discuss trade, investment and services, at an elevated level. From China, it will be the Vice Premier, Hu Chunhua and from India, it will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
He also said that Xi has invited PM Modi to China for the next summit and the Indian Prime Minister has accepted the invitation and dates will be worked out later.
(With PTI inputs)
