PM Modi, Chinese President Xi's meeting "positive and puts bilateral ties back on track": JNU Professor

New Delhi [India], October 25 (HBTV): Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Professor Srikanth Kondapalli has welcomed the meeting held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling it "positive" and stressing that it has put bilateral relations back on track. 

Speaking to ANI, Professor in Chinese Studies at JNU, Srikanth Kondapalli, noted that the two nations had experienced an arms stalemate for the past four and a half years since the Galwan incident in 2020, and termed it necessary that the strategic leadership decided to bury the hatchet and prepare for some kind of understanding on the border, particularly regarding patrolling. 

When asked about the importance of the meeting between the two leaders in the current geopolitical scenario, he said, "I think the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping is in the right direction and positive, and it has put bilateral relations back on track. We have had an arms stalemate for the past four and a half years since the Galwan incident in June 2020. So, the current move is actually welcome because of two big, populous countries, growing economies, nuclear powers, huge conventional military strength, aspirations as developing countries, and mobilizing the Global South." 

"These two countries have been at odds for the past four and a half years. I think it is necessary that the strategic leadership decided to bury the hatchet and prepare for some kind of understanding on the border, especially starting with patrolling and other measures. So, number one, this is a historic meeting, and this is necessary as both countries are on the verge of conflict, which is not suitable for either people. So this is the first significance," he added.

Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia's Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit on Wednesday. The meeting marked the first formal, structured interaction between the two leaders in five years. 

The meeting between the two leaders came after India and China reached an agreement on resuming regular patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. 

(ANI)