Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brazil, July 14. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi's meeting with Modi seen as big boost for China-India relationship

Observers said the meeting between Chinese and Indian leaders was a good start in building mutual trust and will help usher in a new era with huge economic potential.

During the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in Brazil, President Xi Jinping said that China and India should be partners, not competitors.

"Joining hands for peaceful, cooperative and inclusive development to enable the 2.5 billion people in both countries to live a better life, and to promote the peace and development in the region and the world, are our biggest common interests," Xi said through a translator.

He also called for settling the border issue as early as possible. China and India share a 2,000-km border that has never been formally delineated.

Modi said, "The new Indian government, under my leadership, is willing to deepen India-China friendly cooperation. This is quite important for India."

Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher on India studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the first official meeting between the two leaders will greatly facilitate communications between the two nations.

"The meeting is injecting momentum into a thriving cooperation and will provide a driving force for economic and defense agendas," Fu said.

Ma Jiali, a researcher with the China Reform Forum, said the rapid growth of the China-India relationship is natural because stronger ties with New Delhi serve the interests of China, including geopolitical and international interests.

Beijing regards New Delhi as a heavyweight in global geopolitics, and in view of India, "the vast dividends released by China's reform and opening-up signifies huge potentials for India and a major market", Ma said.

On the economic and trade front, the two countries are expected to "maximize the advantages" of their complementary relationship and broaden the scope of economic cooperation, Fu said.

China-India bilateral trade exceeded $65 billion last year.

Closer ties

Meanwhile, Xi vowed to increase partnerships with Russia and South Africa in separate meetings on Monday with the leaders of the two emerging powers.

During his meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma, Xi said there are opportunities for the two economies to cooperate in more areas and inject new vitality into their comprehensive strategic partnership to take it to new levels. The two nations should look into cooperation in areas including energy, mining, agriculture and infrastructure, he said.

In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi said the series of important cooperative agreements that they reached have been well implemented.

Putin said Russia and China have maintained a good comprehensive strategic partnership. Russia is willing to continue to work with China to enhance cooperation in such areas as energy, science and transportation infrastructure, he said.

Contact the writers at wujiao@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhang Yuwei in New York contributed to this story.