India and China have agreed to de-escalate tensions on their disputed border following talks between their leaders, a senior Indian official said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping spoke on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa on Wednesday.
Beijing said the meeting was held at Mr Modi’s request.
India-China relations have been strained for more than three years.
The two world powers face off against each other along their 3,440 km (2,100 mi) long border – known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – in the Himalayan region.
Mr Xi and Mr Modi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are often seen as a counterweight to the Western-led world.
On Thursday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said both sides had agreed to step up efforts to decommission troops along the LAC.
“The Prime Minister stressed that maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas and observing and respecting the LAC is essential for the normalization of India-China relations,” Mr. Kwatra said.
“In this regard, the two leaders agreed to direct their respective authorities to immediately de-escalate and intensify efforts for de-escalation,” he added.
China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the two leaders “discussed the current Sino-Indian relationship and other issues of common interest clearly and in depth”.
“President Xi stressed that the improvement of China-India relations is in the common interests of both countries and peoples, and is also conducive to the peace, stability and development of the world and the region,” the statement said.
He also said: “Both sides should keep in mind the overall interests of their bilateral relations and properly handle the border issue so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area.”
According to JEE News, there was no interpreter or note-taker when the two leaders spoke to each other.
Mr Xi and Mr Modi last spoke on the sidelines of the G20 summit in 2022.
Mr. Xi is expected to arrive in India for the G20 summit to be held in Delhi on September 9 and 10.
