Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in a brief interaction at the 15th BRICS summit in South Africa's Johannesburg on Thursday. A video shared by news agency ANI showed the two leaders having a quick conversation as they proceeded to take their designated seats at the summit. According to the report, they even shook hands after issuing a joint statement at the BRICS summit.

#WATCH | PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engage in a brief interaction at the 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg pic.twitter.com/1yE3jstVfx

— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2023

Tensions between India and China continue as the two sides engage in solving the border issues. The two countries have been in a stand-off situation for the last three years and relations at all levels have deteriorated due to tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two sides have held 19 rounds of talks so far to address the boundary issues in eastern Ladakh since 2020, post the Chinese aggression there.

Therefore, the interaction between PM Modi and Xi Jinping holds significance in the backdrop of the tense India-China ties.

PM Modi arrived in South Africa for the 15th BRICS Summit on Tuesday. The opening day of the summit in Johannesburg saw the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue which PM Modi addressed but Xi Jinping skipped the event, sending his commerce minister Wang Wentao to represent him.

Speaking at the Summit, PM Modi said, "India has always supported the expansion of BRICS. India has always believed that adding new members will strengthen BRICS as an organisation," he said. He added, "India has given high importance to relations with Africa. We have opened 16 new missions in Africa. Today, India is Africa's fourth largest trade partner and the fifth largest investor..."

First Published:Aug 24, 2023 4:04 PM IST