Modi-Xi 'no baggage' talks hailed by Chinese media

The "heart-to-heart" communication between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their two-day informal summit here reflected their deepened mutual history and charted the course of long-term bilateral development, according to a leading Chinese newspaper.

The China Daily in an opinion piece said: "The beauty of the informal summit between Xi and Modi is that it comes with no baggage, only expectations. It is free of the usual diplomatic frills, somewhat beyond the global media limelight.

"As expected, the 'heart-to-heart' communication between the two leaders reflected their deepened mutual chemistry. Which, in turn, will be conducive to improving mutual trust between the neighbours and charting the course of long-term bilateral development."

India and China share a tense relationship owing to their 1962 war. Their ties touched a new low last year when their militaries were locked in a face-off near their disputed boundary. The crisis was resolved in August.

The daily said that "mutual suspicion was keeping the two countries from deepening cooperation and working together on regional and international issues". 

"The border incident last summer was just one example of what mutual suspicion could lead to, reminding both sides of the disruptive potential of distrust. Yet neither Beijing nor New Delhi calls the other an enemy, which means both expect bilateral ties to improve," it said.

The daily called China and India "natural partners" and said that "both realize they carry the hopes of the other developing countries to improve international relations, in order to make the world order more equitable".

"The Xi-Modi meetings reflect the two neighbours' common aspiration to not only stabilize their troubled relationship but also caution disruptive powers it is difficult to drive a wedge between them," it said.

The Global Times said that the informal summit ushered in a new chapter in the Sino-Indian relations. "Conflicts between China and India have kept accumulating, which exposed the fragility of Sino-Indian relations and prompted both sides to recognize that confrontation between China and India does not fit their interests. Disputes must be controlled".

China's People's Daily quoted Xi as saying that "the consensus reached by the two sides provided positive signals of China-India friendship and reflected the strong will of two big emerging economies to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation".