AAP slams PM Modi's visit to China, asks 'Is this international diplomacy?'

PM Modi with Xi Jinping. Pic/PTI

Amid Narendra Modi's bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the SCO Summit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has slammed the Prime Minister (PM), stating that "first, PM Modi should ask China to return our land".

Speaking to media, former AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "I want to remind the Prime Minister of his own words that 'blood and water cannot flow together.' When China attacked our soldiers, killed them, and captured our land, which is still in their possession, although the central government does not accept this... first, the Prime Minister should ask China to return our land. They are occupying our land, and we are saying that if we are not able to get along with America, then we should get along with you... Is this international diplomacy?"

Earlier on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his opening remarks during delegation-level talks with PM Modi, said that it is vital for China and India to be friends and for the "Dragon and the Elephant" to unite.

Noting that the world is undergoing chaotic churns, Jinping said, "It is the right choice for both China and India - two ancient civilisations, the two most populous countries which are also members of the global South - to be friends and good neighbours who enable each other's success and to have 'the dragon and the elephant dance together."

The Chinese President further said that it was a "great pleasure" for him to meet PM Modi again and welcome him to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Tianjin Summit.

In his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting with PM Modi, Jinping said, "Last year, you and I had a successful meeting in Kazan, and the China-India relationship had resumed and started anew. The two sides have implicitly implemented the important consensus we have agreed on, and the bilateral exchanges and cooperation have since made new progress."

While highlighting the fact that India and China are two of the most important members of the Global South, Jinping asserted, "The world today is swept by once-in-a-century transformations. The international situation is both fluid and chaotic. China and India are two ancient civilisations in the East; we are the world's two most populous countries, and we are also important members of the Global South. We both shoulder the historical responsibility of improving the well-being of our two peoples, promoting the solidarity and rejuvenation of developing countries, and promoting the progress of human society. It is the right choice for both sides to be friends, who have good neighbourly and amicable ties, and partners who enable each other's success, and to have the dragon and the elephant dance together."

(With inputs from ANI)