2.8 billion people from India and China want both countries to be partners, not rivals: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed that India and China should be partners rather than rivals during the recent BRICS summit, which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described as the “most important consensus” reached as part of the bilateral talks.

Summing up Xi’s two-day visit to New Delhi on September 12-13 for the 18th BRICS Summit, Wang said the Chinese and Indian leaders held a candid and in-depth discussion on strategic, long-term and broader issues shaping bilateral relations.

The minister was summing up Xi's two-day visit to New Delhi on September 12 and 13. According to him, Xi said India and China should draw on each other's strengths, support one another and pursue common development.

They also agreed to maintain peace and stability along the border and support each other as they take on the rotating chairmanships of BRICS.

A readout published by China’s Foreign Ministry said bilateral ties have gradually moved from a “restart” to a “renewed elevation” under the strategic guidance of the two leaders.

Wang said improved China-India relations are welcomed not only by the more than 2.8 billion people of the two countries, but also have broader significance for cooperation among countries of the Global South.

Wang also stressed that China and India’s development paths should be seen as opportunities for each other rather than as a source of competition. “The normalisation and improvement of China-India relations has been hard-earned,” Wang said, adding that the progress should be valued and protected.

Wang said PM Modi gave a positive response to Xi’s proposals, stressing that India views its relationship with China from a strategic and long-term perspective.

He recalled that Modi said India is ready to be a “partner, not an adversary” to China and sees China’s development as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Wang also quoted Modi as saying that India’s approach to China is independent of third-party influence and that New Delhi will not allow any forces to use Indian territory for anti-China activities.

Modi also reaffirmed India’s commitment to high-level exchanges with China, greater strategic communication and expanded people-to-people ties based on mutual respect and trust.

The leaders also agreed to strengthen coordination through multilateral platforms, including the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the G20.

They pledged to deepen cooperation among countries of the Global South, promote a more multipolar world order and work together as a stabilising force amid global uncertainty.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing would work with New Delhi to implement the understandings reached by Xi and Modi. “As the two leaders have charted the course for the future development of the bilateral ties, China will work with India to implement the important common understandings reached between the two leaders,” Guo said at a media briefing on Monday.

This comes as China will take over the BRICS chairmanship in 2027, giving Beijing and New Delhi another important platform to coordinate their positions.