PM Modi holds talks with President Xi in Tianjin amid global economic uncertainties

PM Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin to review India-China economic ties and explore measures to normalise relations following the eastern Ladakh border tensions. Discussions emphasised stability, cooperation, and regional and global economic resilience amid ongoing trade challenges.

Tianjin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday held bilateral talks against the backdrop of Washington’s tariff tussle that has impacted almost all leading economies across the world.

Modi landed in China on Saturday on a two-day visit that came after a gap of seven years.

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In the talks, the two leaders are expected to take stock of India-China economic ties and deliberate on steps to further normalise relations that came under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh border row.

Modi is in China primarily to attend the two-day annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) beginning Sunday.

However, his meeting with Xi assumed greater significance in the face of strain in ties between India and the US following the Trump administration’s policies on trade and tariff.

Ahead of his trip to Tianjin, Modi said it is important for India and China to work together to bring stability to the world economic order.

In an interview with Japan’s The Yomiuri Shimbun, Modi said a stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.

“Given the current volatility in world economy, it is also important for India and China, as two major economies, to work together to bring stability to the world economic order,” Modi said in the interview published on Friday.

Modi’s trip to China comes less than a fortnight after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India.

Following Wang’s wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the two sides unveiled a series of measures for a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking” relationship between the two sides.

The measures included joint maintenance of peace along the contested frontier, reopening border trade and resuming direct flight services at the earliest.

In the last few months, both sides have initiated a series of measures to reset their ties that came under severe strain following the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June 2020.