Fabian said high-level signals were key to India-China ties, but cautioned against expecting a boundary breakthrough….reports India Daily News Desk
Former diplomat K.P. Fabian has cautioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could help improve India-China relations, but Beijing is unlikely to make major concessions on the disputed border.
Speaking after the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Fabian said Xi’s visit, his first to India in seven years, created an important opportunity for the leaders to hold bilateral discussions and set a direction for future engagement.
Fabian said high-level signals were essential for progress in India-China relations, but warned against expecting a major breakthrough on the boundary question.
“China is unlikely to make any large concessions on the border matter,” he said, suggesting Beijing could prefer to keep the dispute unresolved as a diplomatic lever.
The remarks come after Modi and Xi agreed during their BRICS sidelines meeting that differences should not become disputes and that both countries should take a strategic and long-term approach to their relationship.
Fabian also welcomed the New Delhi Declaration’s strong language against cross-border terrorism, including its condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. However, he questioned whether China would translate that position into support for India at the UN Security Council on the designation of Pakistan-based terrorist organisations.
On BRICS financial cooperation, Fabian urged India to avoid describing efforts to expand trade in national currencies as “de-dollarisation”, arguing that the term could unnecessarily antagonise Washington.
He also rejected the idea of a common BRICS currency, warning it could undermine members’ financial sovereignty and become dominated by China because of the size of its economy.
For India, he said, expanding the use of national currencies in bilateral trade would be a more practical approach.
