After spending 24 hours in Wuhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping ended their informal meetings on Saturday with a promise to reduce border tensions after a high-altitude standoff in Doklam last year. Xi and Modi discussed how to mend maintain peace in the region and mend ties. It may be recalled that troops from both sides had come eyeball-to-eyeball in Doklam. Modi returned to New Delhi on Saturday evening.

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The two leaders "underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region," Indian's foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting. "They issued strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs," it said, adding the two sides will "earnestly implement confidence-building measures".

During their 'informal meeting', Modi and Xi recognised the common threat posed by terrorism. Both leaders committed to offer full support to counter-terrorism. However, when foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale was asked by media persons, whether the issue of JeM chief Masood Azhar was discussed, he said they "did not go into specifics".

In a statement on its website, China's foreign ministry said that Xi had told Modi that "a friendly Sino-Indian relationship is a significant, positive factor in safeguarding world stability," adding that "China and India should be good neighbours and good friends". It did not, however, mention the border dispute. Xi emphasised that the two countries had both traditionally had "an independent foreign policy", an oblique reference to India's discussion with the US, Australia and Japan about balancing against China's growing assertiveness in what the Trump administration has begun to refer to as the "Indo-Pacific" region.

The four countries have been in discussions over trade and security. "In dealing with great power relations, China persists in strategic autonomy," the foreign ministry quoted Xi as saying. Beijing "persists in promoting the construction of a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation". (With Agency Inputs)