BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi produced important consensus and marked the two leaders' reaffirmation of the growth of China-India ties after they guided the bilateral relations from starting afresh to making further improvements since 2024.

The most important consensus reached during the meeting on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi is that China and India should be partners. It was the third meeting between the two leaders in three years.

As Xi noted during their talks, to promote the steady and sustained development of China-India relations, both sides need to calibrate the direction with an objective and rational strategic perception, help each other succeed in the spirit of win-win cooperation, remove irritants with the political wisdom of mutual respect and mutual understanding, and contribute to a better world with open and inclusive multilateral coordination.

China has always viewed and developed its relations with India from a strategic height and with a long-term view. As two major ancient civilizations, China and India should demonstrate sufficient wisdom and capacity to maintain and develop their bilateral ties.

Over the centuries, the peoples of the two neighboring countries have developed precious bonds via exchanges and mutual learning. In modern times, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence -- specified by the Chinese leadership in their entirety for the first time -- were included in the China-India and China-Myanmar joint statements that called for making them basic norms for state-to-state relations, which is an outstanding contribution to the international system.

The two countries should treasure and carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and pursue parallel progress in developing bilateral ties and solving border issues with the two tracks reinforcing each other, to maintain peace and tranquility in border areas and advance long-term development of bilateral relations.

China and India are the world's two most populous countries. The essence of their relationship lies in how two major developing countries with a population of over 1.4 billion each can get along with each other.

The two countries offer each other development opportunities, not threats. This strategic judgment is based on the development stages of the two countries and the international environment, and serves the common interests of both countries and their peoples.

Both countries are in a critical period of their respective national modernization drives, and development is the biggest common denominator. The two countries are partners for cooperation, not rivals. Both sides should draw on each other's strengths and develop together.

As major members of the Global South, China and India shoulder the international responsibility of setting an example in seeking strength through unity for developing countries, and contributing to advancing world multipolarity and the democratization of international relations. Both countries should work together to advance high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation and provide more positive energy for global peace, stability, development and prosperity.

It is expected that China and India will maintain the right direction in the development of their relationship, advance exchanges and cooperation in various fields, promote the steady and sustained development of bilateral ties, and make due contributions to the cause of human progress.■