Xi's presence in Mahabalipuram is more of a political message by Modi to the world -- as well as to regional parties in South India that they should be beware of the BJP's rise, says R Rajagopalan.
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
'Significantly, Foreign Secretary Gokhale was received at very high level in Beijing.' 'It only shows China's keenness to move forward and put the relationship on a 'win-win' footing,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The impasse on the India-China border in the Sikkim sector persists, but the Hamburg meeting between the two leaders will certainly have its salutary effects on the relationship between the two countries,' says China scholar Rup Narayan Das.
The Wednesday talks took place amid a war of words between the two sides on perception of the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border spanning a length of nearly 3,500 km.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will focus on extended neighbourhood, particularly the ASEAN and Central Asian regions, says Archis Mohan
'From what evidence has come up, General Bajwa somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American.' 'And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn't imported from there. It was exported from here to there.'
'Beijing is comfortable with Hasina's pragmatism -- perceived as 'pro-India', but staying out of Indian orbit and receptive to forging close ties with China and yet, siding with neither neighbour,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Modi told President Xi that he has made efforts to improve ties with Islamabad but these efforts have been "derailed".
"Today the country is moving forward from women development to women-led development," Modi said.
As India rises, creating niche areas for itself in the Asian landscape, China and India are bound to step on each other's vital areas of importance, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
India has told China not to "shift goalposts" and "confuse" managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms.
'The Chinese are retaining geostrategic pressure on India by keeping troops there and building infrastructure continually.'
There are still a few lingering issues towards the progress of India-China bilateral relations, the approach for dealing with each other seems to be quite different. With Modi-Xi bonhomie strengthening, it seems that India and China are ready to recalibrate their approaches towards each other, says Sana Hashmi.
An MoU on sharing hydrological information of the Brahmaputra River by China to India and another pact on amendment of the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice were signed after the Modi-Xi talks in the eastern Chinese port city.
China on Monday said India's membership bid in the NSG has become "more complicated" under the "new circumstances" as it again ruled out backing New Delhi's entry in the grouping, saying there should be non-discriminatory solution applicable to all non-NPT signatory countries.
A panel for informal consultations on India's membership has also been set up by the NSG and it will be headed by Argentine Ambassador Rafael Grossi.
The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.
In diplomacy, a prime ministerial visit should be viewed as a rare event, not a routine one, which should be taken recourse to only when other options like ministerial visits are not available. But Modi has a different style of functioning. He wants to do everything himself, says Rajeev Sharma
President Xi said that the Chinese side is ready to work with the Indian side to carry forward the fresh impetus of bilateral relations.
Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and thanked Putin for inviting him for the first-ever informal meeting at Sochi.
All the three issues raised by China at the Modi-Xi meeting are either intractable or peripheral to the bilateral relations and suggest conventional methods to placate the other side without yielding much, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Terrorism and Afghanistan were the focus points of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on his first visit to Central Asia.
'The ceremony on May 30 is all about Modi and there is the great risk that Imran Khan who is a rockstar among Indians might end up stealing the show,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.
By jettisoning the vision of multilateral world in favour of a Han Empire, China has posed a major long term challenge to India. India must stand firm against Chinese expansionism but also keep a door open for future detente by making a clear distinction between Chinese people and the current Chinese leadership, observe Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (Retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (Retd).
The decisions were mentioned in a joint statement issued by the two armies late Tuesday, a day after the sixth round of Sino-India Corps commander-level talks that lasted for 14-hours.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.
Imran Khan knows Pakistan is holding a strong hand and doesn't have to flaunt it while claiming victory. But Pakistan has learned from the experience of the 1990s -- high risk of going out on a limb, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Whatever comes in the minds of the Pakistani generals and Pakistan military, they just go for it.' 'They do not care about the consequences for their country or the consequences to the people of Pakistan.'
Many BJP leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous Cabinet could be retained.
'If an 'informal meeting' with Xi Jinping materialises before the SCO summit in June, that itself could be regarded as a significant breakthrough in India-China relations,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India and China met and spoke a lot this year, but failed to produce any meaningful results.
With the continuing stand-off in Ladakh casting a shadow over the Sino-India talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised 'serious concerns' over the repeated incidents along the border and sought an early settlement of the boundary question.
'Ensuring through diplomatic means and in conjunction with strategic partners that India will not be required to fight a simultaneous two-front war with China and Pakistan.' Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists what India must have in its national security strategy.
Russia and the US began second round of negotiations on securing Syria's chemical arsenal, hoping the high-stakes talks would lead to broader peace efforts, even as Damascus submitted application to UN for joining the chemical weapons convention.
The meeting, which comes after the Doklam standoff, is aimed at a working a new paradigm for the bilateral relations for the next 15 years.
