NEW DELHI: The nascent warmth in Sino-Indian ties was on full display again Tuesday as President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi exchanged messages with their counterparts Xi Jinping and Li Qiang, respectively, on the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and foreign secretary Vikram Misri joined an event hosted by Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong to mark the event.
On the occasion, Misri said that such celebrations would become even more meaningful if “promising beginnings” in the relationship are translated into tangible benefits for the people of India and China.
The foreign secretary said the road ahead – of rebuilding ties based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interests – was not going to be an easy one but India was prepared to walk on it. “We are looking at the next steps to resume practical cooperation between our countries, and among the first of these steps is resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra this year,” he said.
According to a Chinese readout, Modi told Li in his message that progress in bilateral relations will contribute not only to global stability and prosperity but also to the emergence of a multipolar world.
In his message to Murmu, Xi said that both India and China are important members of the Global South and at a critical stage in their efforts to modernise, reiterating China’s position that an elephant-dragon tango will completely serve the fundamental interests of both countries. As per a Chinese readout, the 75th anniversary of ties was an opportunity to promote “strategic mutual trust…jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in China-India border regions, advance China-India relations on the track of sound and stable development”.
Ties between the two countries have improved considerably since the agreement in Oct 2024 to complete the troop disengagement process in eastern Ladakh and the first Modi-Xi bilateral in five years in Russia’s Kazan that took place on Oct 23 in that year. Russian ambassador Denis Alipov was present at the event hosted by the Chinese embassy.
Modi said recently in a podcast that normalcy had returned in the border areas since his meeting with Xi and he expected trust to return too in the relationship slowly but surely.
