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Mutual China challenges discussed between US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- Two said to have ‘expressed concern over coercive actions and rising tensions’ in Indo-Pacific and ‘strongly oppose’ change in status quo by force
- Modi’s state visit capped by meeting with tech company leaders as Biden administration aims to diversify supply chains away from China
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Khushboo Razdanin Washington
US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed challenges that China poses to both their countries during a bilateral meeting on Thursday, a top White House official said on Friday.
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“The challenges presented by the PRC to both our nations were on the agenda yesterday, no question about that,” said US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby of the talks.
It was when Kirby was asked whether India served as a counterweight to China that he explained the leaders had taken up China in their conversation. He said Modi’s three-day state visit to the US was not about leveraging India.
Kirby cited New Delhi’s “own challenges with China as well, right on their doorstep” in a reference to the long-running border dispute between the Asian neighbours. He said India as a sovereign, independent state had its own foreign policy to manage and that “they live in a tough neighbourhood”.
Biden, Modi hail new era of US-India ties and tout deals
Tensions have stayed high along the 3,200km Chinese-Indian border following a fatal brawl in 2020 that led to the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese men.
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