Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping for first time since clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) broke out between the two nations two years ago, news agency reported. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The meeting took place hours after Xi said China will support India for summit’s presidency next year. Before this, Modi addressed an expanded session of the summit.
Congratulating New Delhi for hosting the summit next year, the Chinese president said, “We will support India for its presidency next year.” Russian president Vladimir Putin – who is set to hold a bilateral meeting with PM Modi later in the day – also conveyed a congratulatory message to India for assuming the presidency.
Ties between India and China have remained strained ever since the border clashes broke out in 2020. Several rounds of high-level discussions have happened since then and the two armies have completed disengagements at key point in Ladakh.
Earlier, Modi met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on sidelines of SCO summit in Samarkand during which they discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors.