How will the ongoing tension between India and China play out in Hamburg later this week? Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will get ample opportunity to interact at the G20 summit on July 7 and 8.
Both will be present at the leaders' retreat, a special segment of the G20 meet, where leaders get together for two hours to discuss pre-determined topics. This time, the issue of terror will be the major point of debate.
The two will also interact at a BRICS meet on the sidelines of the G20 on July 7. All BRICS members are a part of the G20.
There is also the likelihood of a bilateral meeting between the two parties.
The latest bilateral was on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana last month. The meeting was held shortly after China hosted the One Belt One Road conference, which India boycotted. The proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, will pass through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and India. While supporting the initiative for connectivity, India objected on grounds of China not respecting India's sovereignty and territorial concerns.
Yet, Modi and Jinping managed an amicable tete-a-tete, discussing yoga and Indian cinema, two Indian exports popular in China.
This time, there were harsh words and threats from politicians on either side, along with a lot of baying for blood. China had cancelled the Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La; Indian and Chinese soldiers had even resorted to physical brawls at the Indo-China-Bhutan tri-junction. The border has never been this tense for decades.
Will Modi and Jinping be able to diffuse this potential tinderbox?
