Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou amid differences between the two countries over a raft of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The meeting was held on Sunday morning on the sidelines of G20 leaders summit at the Hangzhou West Lake State Guesthouse.
“China is willing to work with India to maintain their hard-won sound relations and further advance their cooperation”, state-run Chinese Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying during their half an hour meeting, their second in less than three months.
The meeting between the two leaders comes in the backdrop of contentious issues including listing of Pakistan-based terrorist organisations in the UN, China stalling India’s membership at the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The two leaders had last met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in June in Tashkent and again set to meet in Goa in October on the sidelines of BRICS summit.
China too has been concerned over the close ties of India with the US and the recently signed Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) which will give the militaries of both countries access to each other’s facilities for supplies and repairs.
After the meeting, both the leaders will attend the BRICS leaders meeting ahead of the G20 summit to finalise their strategy at the summit.
Modi reached Hangzhou last night after concluding his two day visit in Hanoi. He will also have bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. He will attend the two day G20 summit to begin later here today.
He will also meet British Prime Minister Theresa May and Argentinian President Mauricio Macri in the second and concluding session of the G20, before returning to Delhi. A meeting between Modi and US President Barack Obama is, however, not on the cards during this trip, officials said.