After Beijing says PM Reiterated One-China Policy, India says Modi Raised Indian Concerns ‘As Well’ in Meeting With Xi

New Delhi: India on Tuesday (September 15) stopped short of denying China’s claim that the Indian prime minister had reiterated New Delhi’s One-China policy in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, instead stressing that Narendra Modi had raised Indian concerns “as well” and called for both sides to show sensitivity to each other’s “core concerns”.

The two leaders met on Saturday on the margins of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. It marked Xi's return to India after a gap of seven years, with ties between the two countries having remained largely frozen following the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh that began in 2020.

As is customary, India and China issued separate readouts of the meeting, with the differences between them reflecting the two sides’ respective policy priorities.

The Chinese foreign ministry stated that Modi conveyed that “India’s policy and position on issues relating to Taiwan and Tibet remain unchanged, and it will not allow any force to engage in anti-China activities on its territory”. India’s readout, however, made no mention of Modi reiterating the One-China policy.

Three days later, in answer to a question at the media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not specifically deny the Chinese account.

“As far as your question regarding a mention of certain issues in the Chinese declaration, on that I will say that several issues came up during the discussions and we have kept you updated with those, including those referred to in your question”.

He added that Modi had also raised India’s concerns and stressed the need for mutual sensitivity.

“Prime minister referred to Indian concerns as well and underlined that both sides should show sensitivity to each other's core concerns and be guided by the three mutuals: mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity,” Jaiswal said on Tuesday.

The reference to Taiwan and Tibet is significant as India has largely refrained from publicly articulating its One-China policy for nearly two decades.

Chinese readouts have, however, increasingly begun referring to the issue in accounts of bilateral meetings. Until now, such references had been confined to meetings between ministers rather than the two countries’ leaders.

Modi and Xi had met twice previously since the two sides reached an understanding in October 2024 to resolve the military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control. Neither of the Chinese foreign ministry’s readouts of those meetings had referred to Taiwan or Tibet.

China’s references to the issues in readouts of ministerial meetings have also previously drawn responses from India, although New Delhi has generally avoided directly disputing the wording attributed to its officials.

In July this year, following a meeting between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in Manila, the Chinese readout quoted Jaishankar as saying that India’s position on “Taiwan and Xizang remains unchanged”, while also stating that India respected China’s sovereignty.

The MEA responded by saying India had consistently respected China’s sovereignty, but added that it was China that had violated India’s territorial integrity, including through its occupation of Indian territory and its projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The two sides had a sharper exchange in August last year, after a Chinese readout of another Wang-Jaishankar meeting said the Indian minister had stated that “Taiwan is part of China”. The Chinese also quoted India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval as having told Wang that “India has always adhered to the One-China policy”.

The MEA subsequently said there had been “no change in our position on Taiwan” and stressed that India’s engagement with Taiwan was focused on economic, technological and cultural cooperation.

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