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TALKING BACK
GETTY IMAGES
HANDS ON Narendra Modi with Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit in Xiamen
Bending Fences
The Modi-Xi summit is a corrective to the zero-sum depths to which ties had sunk
by Pranay Sharma
S
EVEN months back, when sol-
diers of India and China faced
each other in close proximity in
a 72-day standoff on Bhutan’s
Doklam plateau, most observ-
ers felt the chances of an armed
conflict between the two Asian giants
were high. As it happened, it was res­
olved without a shot fired in anger.
Therefore, when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Chinese President
Xi Jinping meet in Hubei province’s
Wuhan over the April 27-28 weekend for
an informal summit, it will highlight the
two leaders’ maturity in averting a
major crisis. It will also point to the
unc­ertain times we live in. Hence, the
18 OUTLOOK 7 May 2018
attempt will not be only to pat each
other’s back on the peaceful resolution
of the Doklam affair, but to ensure that
another such potentially combustible
situation does not occur. Despite differ-
ences likely to crop up in the future,
such a dialogue mechanism that allows
them to defuse crises should be
encouraged.
Since coming to power in May 2014,
Modi has met Xi several times—over a
dozen interactions by some accounts,
both bilaterally and on the sidelines of
other multilateral forums. Officials say
the idea for an informal summit was
made during their meeting at the BRICS
Summit in Xiamen, soon after Doklam.
But an informal summit will be the first
of its kind between the two neighbours.
Neither Modi nor Xi has any pre-set
agenda for the Wuhan meeting. Barring
their two interpreters, the leaders will
have no other aides or officials with
them. The idea, official planners say, is
to sit across the table in an informal
setting and discuss the ‘big picture’.
Their conversation—a ‘strategic com-
munication’ at the highest level, as the
meeting is being described--is an oppor-
tunity for the two to informally and
candidly talk about important issues.
Though no individual contentious iss­
ues are likely to be highlighted during
the two leaders’ dialogue, many subjects
plaguing bilateral ties may find their
way in obliquely or be referred to.
Predictably, expectations are high that
this meeting will help put Sino-Indian