Patharkandi (Assam), Sept 01: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday sought to downplay Congress’ criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, asserting that the PM has to visit various places for diplomatic relations.
Sarma said that even before and after the Pahalgam terror attack, “Chinese people had come and we have to meet them, talk to them”.
“The prime minister will go to China, America, England… He will go to all the places for diplomatic relations,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here.
“Diplomacy means discussion and negotiation,” Sarma added.
The Congress has slammed the BJP-led central government after the Modi-Xi talks, accusing it of “cowardly kowtowing” and capitulation to the “so-called dragon”.
The party also termed as “anti-national” Modi’s silence on Pakistan-China “jugalbandi” during Operation Sindoor.
India and China on Sunday vowed to expand trade and investment ties to stabilise global commerce as Modi and Xi agreed to deepen bilateral ties to combat pressing challenges and work towards a “fair” solution to the festering border issue.
The talks between the two leaders covered a range of issues, including reducing India-China trade deficit, tackling challenges like terrorism, and ensuring fair trade on multilateral platform. (Agencies)
