India and China agree to ‘de-escalate’ border tensions

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Kathmandu: India and China have agreed to de-escalate tensions along their disputed border after a conversation between its leaders, a senior Indian official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping spoke on the sidelines of the Brics summit in South Africa on Wednesday.

Beijing said the meeting was held at Modi’s request.

Relations between India and China have been worsening for more than three years.

The two world powers are facing off against each other along their ill-defined 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long border – known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – in the Himalayan region.

On Thursday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that both sides had agreed to step up efforts for the disengagement of troops along the LAC.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two leaders had “a candid and in-depth exchange of views on current China-India relations and other questions of shared interest”.

(News Source: BBC)