According to sources Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on the sidelines of a G20 meeting this week, aiming to build on a thaw in ties after a military standoff on their disputed border last year. Meanwhile the 3,500 km (2,200-mile) border between the nuclear armed neighbors has been calm since Modi and Xi held several hours of talks in the Chinese city of Wuhan in April, agreeing to prevent political disputes escalating into confrontation.
Previously their two armies will hold joint exercises in a bid to build trust after their 73 day face-off in a remote, high altitude stretch of the Himalayan border that stoked fears of war. Meanwhile Modi's meeting with Xi at the G20 summit in Argentina will be their fourth this year, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. "India's primary interest is exporting skimmed milk products and for China it is apples," one of the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Furthermore their bilateral trade reached $89.6 billion in 2017/18 with a deficit of $62.9 billion in China's favor. Moreover Indian officials said that China, locked in a trade dispute with the United States, has been more flexible than before with regard to the possible opening up of its markets to Indian pharmaceutical products and IT services.
