New Delhi:
The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India after seven years and took part in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “very important optics”, said former envoy to China Gautam Bambawale on Saturday, adding that the engagement will guide the two sides at official and ministerial levels on how to move ahead in mending ties.
“The description of a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary — these are all words which have been used in the past. So in a sense, they lay the basic groundwork. But I think there will be some sort of guidance given by the two leaders, which is not out in the media, in the statements made by the two sides, which we will probably see working out in the next few weeks and probably months,” he told NDTV Managing Editor Shiv Aroor.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. After their bilateral engagement, PM Modi stressed that “peace and tranquillity” in border areas are essential for both nations’ relations.
The former ambassador to China said the meeting could pave the way for a strong outcome in the future.
“So even if there are no great outcomes or takeaways right away, I think they will be followed up; this meeting will be followed up by further discussions among officials, perhaps at the ministerial level, which will then yield outcomes in the India-China relationship,” he said.
The development, however, showed that ties between India and China are improving, he inferred.
“The India-China relationship is on the mend; it is being repaired, but that is going to be a long process, and we will all have to be very patient on both sides to see it regain the kind of momentum it had in 2019 before it came to a stop due to the Chinese military moves in eastern Ladakh and in Galwan,” he added.
Asked about optics on both sides, the former diplomat said, “The very fact that President Xi Jinping is in Delhi after a gap of seven years, and we know why that gap existed because of what happened in eastern Ladakh and Galwan, definitely. The very fact that he’s here, I think the optics are definitely very, very important”.
He described the meeting as a couple of steps forward but cautioned that a lot of ground remains to be covered.
“Remember that, as I have described it, the India-China relationship took 10 steps back due to Galwan. But due to what happened in eastern Ladakh, we have probably taken three steps forward since 2024. And probably today, we will take another couple of steps forward,” he said.
“But if you look at the net result, we are still in the negative. There’s a lot of ground to be made up. We are not yet at the level where the India-China relationship was as far back as 2019,” he added.
The former envoy acknowledged that both China and the United States are trying to win India over for their long-term strategic goals.
“I can see that both the United States, the major power, the United States on the one hand and China, on the other, are actually trying to woo India to be on their side or not to take the side of the other country. So, I think this is one of the reasons why President Xi Jinping is in New Delhi today, and for some time tomorrow. And I think we have several cards to play in that respect,” he said.
“We will not take sides, but we will continue to work with both countries, both the major powers, while at the same time keeping our heads down in India domestically and building up our own strengths, economic, military, and technological,” he added.
