‘Differences should not become disputes’: Modi, Xi welcome progress in India-China ties
At a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12 September 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping welcomed the progress made in India-China relations.
Both leaders agreed that differences between the two countries should not be allowed to become disputes, and that ties should be viewed from a strategic and long-term perspective.
Modi reiterated that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remains an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations, and both sides committed to observing existing border agreements.
The two governments also referenced recent easing steps — including relaxed investment scrutiny norms and resumption of some direct air connectivity — as markers of the broader thaw alongside the border-focused dialogue.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC): What It Is and Why It Differs from the LoC and the International Border
The Line of Actual Control is the de facto line separating Indian- and Chinese-controlled territory; it is not a legally demarcated or mutually agreed international boundary. This distinguishes it sharply from two other lines students often confuse it with: the Line of Control (LoC), which separates Indian- and Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir following the 1948 and 1971 conflicts and is treated by both countries as a de facto military control line; and the International Border (IB), a mutually recognised and surveyed boundary (such as the Radcliffe Line-based border with Pakistan in Punjab/Gujarat/Rajasthan, or the boundary with Bangladesh).
The Modi-Xi statement that "border peace is the essential basis" for ties is meaningful precisely because the LAC's undemarcated, contested nature is the structural reason recurring "differences" arise — the CBM framework below exists to manage exactly this.
Key Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) Governing the LAC
Since 1993, India and China have layered a series of bilateral agreements to prevent border friction from escalating into conflict, even without resolving the underlying boundary question. These CBMs form the legal-diplomatic scaffolding referenced whenever both sides speak of "observing existing agreements."
Key Details
- 1993 — Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC: first agreement to reference the LAC and commit both sides to minimal force levels near it.
- 1996 — Agreement on Confidence Building Measures in the Military Field along the LAC (signed during President Jiang Zemin's visit): introduced measures like advance notification of military exercises, flag meetings, and protocols for accidental LAC crossings.
- 2005 — Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of the boundary question: set out principles (avoiding disturbance to settled populations, seeking a package settlement) for a final solution.
- 2013 — Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA): established hotlines, more frequent flag meetings, and protocols to prevent face-offs from escalating, especially where LAC perceptions differ.
The commitment at this meeting to "observe existing agreements" is a direct reference to this 1993-2013 CBM stack; both leaders effectively reaffirmed the legal architecture rather than announcing new instruments.
- The LAC spans approximately 3,488 km across the western, middle, and eastern sectors of the India-China border.
- The foundational CBM is the 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC.
- The 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed on 23 October 2013.
- The LoC (India-Pakistan) is distinct from the LAC (India-China): the former is a monitored military control line, the latter remains undemarcated and contested in alignment.
- The BRICS Summit hosting this bilateral meeting was held in New Delhi in September 2026.