Modi, Xi hail border pact, seek to mend ties

Context: In their
first formal bilateral meeting in five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Chinese President Xi Jinping have welcomed the agreement for a resolution of
the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) announced earlier
this week, as officials said they have now “set the process in motion for
bringing [India-China] relations back to a normal path”. In his opening remarks
on Wednesday, Mr. Modi told Mr. Xi that maintaining peace and stability on the
border should be a “priority” for both sides, but did not go into details of
how the stand-off began in April 2020, when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army
amassed troops along the LAC and transgressed the border, leading to a
counter-deployment by the Indian Army.

16^th
BRICS Summit

·       About: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is currently in Russia for the 16th BRICS Summit, along
with Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The summit is hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the city of Kazan.

·       BRICS: BRICS, in
its earlier format, brought together 5 major emerging economies – Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa. Before, expanding in 2023, BRICS as a
platform represents 42% of the world population, 30% of the world’s territory,
23% of global GDP, and around 18% of world trade. The aim of
the alliance is to challenge the economic and political monopoly of the West.

·       Summit of 2024: Host – Russia (16th BRICS summit is
being held in Kazan, one of Russia's largest and wealthiest cities).

Agenda - The central theme uniting BRICS
members is their disillusionment with Western-led global governance, particularly
in the economic sphere. This sentiment has intensified following the sanctions
on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which raised concerns among
Global South nations about the West potentially using global financial tools as
weapons. In response, BRICS aims to reduce reliance on the US dollar and the
SWIFT financial system, from which Russian banks were excluded in 2022.

Key
Points

·      
Overview: In the
talks held on the side-lines of the on-going BRICS summit in Kazan, the leaders
decided to restart dialogue mechanisms between Foreign Ministers and other
officials to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations” that have been
suspended on most issues other than the border situation.

·      
China’s
Economic Dominance: China, as the largest economy within BRICS, often has
a dominant influence on the group's economic agenda. This can create an
imbalance and generate concerns among other member states about Beijing's
increasing sway in the bloc's decision-making.

·      
Way
forward: The agreement would certainly lead to an easing of the
situation along the LAC. But the statement denied commenting on whether it
would mean that Indian and Chinese soldiers would now not need to spend another
“freezing” winter season at the boundary.