‘Partners, not rivals’: Chinese media hails Modi-Xi meeting as step towards steady, long-term ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China after seven years has drawn prominent coverage in Chinese state media which portrayed his meeting with President Xi Jinping as a turning point for bilateral ties.

Outlets such as the Global Times and Xinhua highlighted Xi’s remarks that India and China are “cooperation partners, not rivals” and must pursue a long-term vision for steady and sustainable relations.

The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, highlighted the need to maintain border peace, deepen cooperation and act as “pillars of the Global South” amid shifting global dynamics.

The Global Times, a prominent state-run Chinese media outlet, published an article titled “China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals: Xi,” highlighting President Xi Jinping’s remarks about the bilateral meeting, saying, “as long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth."

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Further, the Global Times reported that Xi said China and India should become neighbours 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, The Global Times reported, quoting Xi’s oft-repeated phrase ‘The dragon and the elephant’ metaphors for China and India.PM Modi met with Xi Jinping this morning on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “Had a fruitful meeting with President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. We reviewed the positive momentum in India-China relations since our last meeting in Kazan. We agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas and reaffirmed our commitment to cooperation based on mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity.

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“Chinese state-run media outlet Xinhua reported that Xi welcomed PM Modi to the SCO summit, emphasising the importance of the two countries viewing their bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, pursuing further improvement from the Tianjin meeting onward, and working for their sustained, sound, and steady development.

During his bilateral with PM Modi, Xi Jinping called for strengthening “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.

“Xi also stressed that the two Asian neighbours must ensure “peace and tranquillity in their border regions, and should not let the border issue define the overall China-India relations.

“The meeting between the two leaders comes amid growing global uncertainty and the decision by US President Donald Trump to impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports from India, including a 25 per cent duty targeting India’s purchase of Russian oil.

Another Chinese news outlet, ‘Xinhua’, highlighted Xi’s remarks framing India and China as two pillars of the Global South. Apart from state media reports, Chinese journalists covering the summit also commented on the significance of the meeting.

Zhang Xiao, a Hindi-speaking Chinese journalist who introduced herself as “Anjali,” pushed for deeper cooperation between the two nations. Speaking in fluent Hindi, she said, “We are neighbouring nations and leading developing countries of the world. We are two of the largest economies. Our trade cooperation is extensive…So, the opportunities are immense. We should not have tensions between us. We should join hands and work together…I believe China’s high technology is well-known across the world. We can cooperate on this.

“On the SCO Summit itself, Zhang said, “SCO provides a good platform to further strengthen India-China relations. Tianjin is an important city.“Another Chinese journalist, Wu Lei, Chief Editor at China-based outlet CGTN, emphasised the importance of the leaders’ commitment to keep the border issue from overshadowing broader ties.

“Indian Prime Minister Modi also reaffirmed that the two countries should move on to boost their bilateral ties and border issues shouldn’t be affecting the bilateral relations and the direct flights between the two countries are expected to resume and the hope to expand the collaboration from security to economic and people to people exchanges and as member states of the SCO as well as the BRICS collaboration. They are expected to share more responsibility as global South partners,” Wu said.

Wu added that both leaders’ participation in the SCO was significant in the context of a shifting global order.

“They are expected to meet with global leaders and to strengthen the collaboration to uphold multilateralism, especially when the world is facing a lot of challenges, including unilateralism and protectionism. So collaboration upholds solidarity as the key to tackling these problems."

Highlighting the scale of the event, Wu said, “This is the fifth time for China to hold the SCO summit, and they are going to deliver a Tianjin declaration highlighting the latest results, the fruitful outcome of the SCO over the years. China has been rotating the presidency of the SCO over the last year. Over 100 activities have been held, from agricultural to training to cultural exchanges, even media collaboration. This time, over 3,000 journalists are expected to cover the SCO. You can imagine that the SCO really attracts a lot of global attention.

“Wu also mentioned the summit’s historical dimension, adding, “And these global leaders also expected to release a statement highlighting the world anti-fascist wars, 80th anniversary of the Chinese people’s war against Japanese aggression and world anti-fascist war, as well as the founding of the United Nations. So it’s a very important moment for the whole world to stand together to continue the collaboration and uphold multilateralism."