Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday emphasised that BRICS -- the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- must uphold the value of diplomacy to resolve "hotspot issues".
In what seemed to be an indirect reference to the over-two-month-long Doklam standoff between India and China, Jinping said "peace and development" should be the foundation to resolve issues as the world does not want "conflict and confrontation."
The members of the BRICS group, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arrived in Xiamen to attend the summit, which begins on Monday. Modi and Jinping are expected to hold bilateral talks on Tuesday, almost a week after the resolution of the 73-day standoff.
Modi will be travelling to Myanmar for a bilateral visit after the conclusion of the summit, PTI reported.
The aforementioned standoff had begun on June 16 after China accused Indian troops of entering Doklam, also known as the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction, and stopping Chinese troops from constructing a road in the area. However, India responded by saying the border dispute was yet to be resolved and that China should "desist from changing the status quo".
China had continuously demanded that India withdraw its troops from the Doklam region if it wished to hold dialogue with regard to the matter. However, India had called for both countries to withdraw troops for peace talks to take place.
The Ministry of External Affairs announced on August 28 that both India and China had decided on "expeditious disengagement" of their respective military troops in the disputed region.
On Sunday, Jinping also called on BRICS leaders to participate in the process of resolving geopolitical "hotspot issues" and make due contributions in a constructive manner.
Modi had said something similar on Saturday: "India attaches high importance to the role of BRICS that has begun a second decade of its partnership for progress and peace. BRICS has important contributions to make in addressing global challenges and upholding world peace and security".
He had added that he was looking forward to engaging with the leaders of the nine other countries, including BRICS partners, in an Emerging Markets and Developing Countries Dialogue being hosted by Jinping on Tuesday.
"We will also interact with the BRICS Business Council represented by captains of industry from all the five countries," Modi had said.
PM Modi likely to raise terrorism issue
India is likely to raise concerns over terrorism at the BRICS Summit and call for important contributions by member countries in upholding peace and security and addressing global challenges.
However, China had earlier said that it would not be appropriate to raise concerns over Pakistan's counter-terrorism records at the BRICS Summit. When asked about the same, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar was quoted by PTI as saying that he cannot anticipate what the PM will say during his session at the summit.
However, Kumar added that India's position on terrorism was clear and that it had been raising the issue at several multilateral forums.
"We noticed that India, when it comes to Pakistan's counter-terrorism, has some concerns. I don't think this is an appropriate topic to be discussed at BRICS summit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had said ahead of the summit.
Modi will also hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, which is among the five counties — the others being Mexico, Guinea, Thailand and Tajikistan — invited by China as the part of the BRICS outreach exercise.
