NEW DELHI: The two-day informal summit ended on a positive note with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepting Chinese President Xi sometime next year. Experts expressed happiness over the fact that the two leaders have put contentious issues the sidelines while paving the way forward for bilateral ties.
Debasish Chaudhuri, an adjunct fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, emphasised the importance of informal summits by highlighting the similarities between the Wuhan Summit and Chennai Connect.
“Both the informal summits have taken place when conditions have not really been conducive for talks between the two countries. While Wuhan after Kashmir. Despite this, the ties between the two countries have matured and the two leaders stronger trade mechanisms to boost economic ties,” he said. Chaudhuri also pointed out that the two leaders did not have any other compulsions this time as was the case with Wuhan.
It must be noted that the 2018 summit took place when Xi was vying for a second term as president while Modi was hoping for another term as PM. Former diplomat Kishan Rana echoed Chaudhuri’s opinion and said the two nations were well aware of their own and each other’s relationship with Pakistan. “No two countries see eye-toeye on all issues.
The same is the case with India and China. Despite having unresolved border issues, which are often the most contentious between them, the maturity shown by Modi and Xi has been good to keep them on the sidelines,” he said, adding that both nations are well aware of each other’s strength across the region and the globe.