Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in New Delhi for the BRICS summit and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday, Beijing said Friday that the two countries will work to “handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective” and “be friends” and “partners helping each other succeed”.

Xi’s visit, his first to India in seven years, is expected to give new impetus to efforts by the two countries for restoration of ties after a long, tense military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

Xi last visited India in October 2019 when he travelled to Mamallapuram near Chennai for an informal bilateral summit. Ties plummeted after the military standoff began in the summer of 2020.

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On Friday, Xu Feihong, China’s Ambassador to India, in a post on X, said, “China and India are arranging for the bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi. This will be the third year in a row for the two leaders to meet with each other, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin.”

“China will work with India to act on the strategic guidance of the two leaders, handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, step up communication, enhance cooperation, properly handle differences, and be friends enjoying good neighborliness and partners helping each other succeed,” Xu said.

In Beijing, India’s Ambassador to China, Vikram Doraiswami, in an opinion piece in CGTN, said, “A stable, predictable and cooperative relationship between India and China is  not only in the interest of our own 2.8 billion people, but is also a significant factor for the credibility and effectiveness of BRICS as an action-oriented platform for emerging economies.”

“There is reason for confidence here. Over the past year, India and China have maintained sustained engagement at the working level, complemented by high-level exchanges that have helped build trust and understanding between our two sides. This has translated into genuine cooperation on the ground,” he said.