BEIJING - Indian media reports indicate Modi and Xi have agreed to embark on a joint economic project in Afghanistan, but no details were given.
India and China have agreed to work jointly on an economic project in Afghanistan, a move that could unsettle Pakistan, the Times of India reported.
According to the report, an official source said on condition of anonymity, that the decision was made during an informal summit between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The two-day summit, which wrapped up on Saturday, was held in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The Times of India reported the source as having said India and China discussed participation in a project but that details are being worked out through diplomatic channels.
An Indian and Chinese convergence on Afghanistan taking the shape of a joint venture is ground-breaking, the Times of India reported.
"It's a sign that the two leaders, to an extent, did manage to address the distrust which has marked ties in the past few years," said a source.
Pakistan's reaction to the development will be keenly watched as Islamabad is in talks with Beijing to extend its economic corridor with China (CPEC) to Afghanistan, the report read.
The two leaders also discussed issues around the “common threat” of terrorism.
"They committed to cooperate on counter-terrorism," the Indian government said in a statement after the summit.
Xinhua meanwhile reported that Xi said that mutual trust is the basis for the stable development of China-India relations.
Xi said that the two countries have forged a closer development partnership and made progress on exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
"We have paid reciprocal visits, met on multiple occasions, and reached many important consensuses over the past three years, which acted as a guidance to the positive development momentum of bilateral ties," Xi said.
China and India, as the two biggest developing countries and two emerging economies each with a population of over 1 billion, are both important engines of global economic growth, as well as backbone forces for promoting multi-polarization and economic globalization, Xi said.
The international situation is undergoing a critical period of changes and adjustment, and countries around the world are now more inter-connected and rely on each other, said Xi, noting that "the trend of peace and development is irreversible."
"A sound China-India relationship is an important, positive factor for safeguarding world stability, and means a lot to the development and progress of all human beings," Xi said.
"China and India should be good neighbors and friends," Xi said. "The two countries should regard each other as a positive factor in the balance of global power and take each other as partners for realizing the dream of development." (Tolo news)