Amid buzz over a one-on-one meeting, PM Modi & China’s Xi engage in short interaction on sideline of BRICS

Amid the speculation over a one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the two leaders were seen walking side by side and having a brief conversation.

 

 

A video shared by a news agency shows PM Modi walking side by side with the Chinese President before they were about to share the stage. The brief interaction comes amid the buzz of a one-on-one meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

 

 

The informal chat between PM Modi and Xi Jinping happened shortly after the five-nation BRICS grouping agreed to expand its membership and invited six other nations to join the bloc. There was no immediate official word from the Indian or Chinese side regarding the interaction.

 

 

This was the first time the two leaders interacted in public since their brief interaction during last year’s G20 Summit in Bali. Modi and Xi had met briefly at a formal dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on November 16, 2022.

 

According to reports, there were differing opinions among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa over accepting new members into the loosely defined club of major emerging economies. South African officials had said more than 40 countries showed some level of interest in joining the BRICS from across the 'Global South', a broad term referring to nations outside the West.

 

PM Modi had told the summit he supported opening the door to new members and "welcomes moving forward with consensus". "The expansion and modernisation of BRICS denote that all international institutes should evolve with time," he had said.

 

While the original five members arrived at a consensus on admitting new members into BRICS, there is no official word yet on whether PM Modi and Xi Jinping will be meeting on the sidelines of the summit. The two leaders haven't had a bilateral meeting in nearly four years, since the violent clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley.

 

Today, the final day of the summit, PM Modi is set to engage in five bilateral meetings. He will meet with the leaders of Iran, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. However, the government has not yet disclosed the names of the other two countries he will meet formally later in the day.

 

The latest Corps Commander level discussions did not succeed in resolving the standoff at friction points in eastern Ladakh. However, the positively worded joint statementissued before the BRICS summit and upcoming G20 meet in Delhi sparked expectations of a possible bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping.