Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin, north China, Aug. 31, 2025. Modi is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
TIANJIN, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals, and that the two countries are each other's development opportunities rather than threats.
As long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth, Xi said when the two leaders met in the port city of Tianjin ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025.
Xi said China and India should become neighbors on good terms and partners helping each other succeed. A "cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant" should be the right choice for the two countries, he said.
Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations, Xi said the two countries need to view and handle bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective.
He called on the two countries to strengthen strategic communication to deepen mutual trust, expand exchanges and win-win cooperation, heed each other's concerns to seek harmonious coexistence, and enhance multilateral collaboration to safeguard common interests.
The two Asian neighbors should work together to ensure peace and tranquility in their border regions, and should not let the border issue define the overall China-India relations, Xi said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tianjin, north China, Aug. 31, 2025. Modi is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)