KAZAN: India and China Wednesday agreed to work towards improving bilateral ties, signalling a potential thaw between the neighbours since clashes between their troops in 2020 over a contested border.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of a BRICS gathering in Russia, the pair's first formal meeting in five years.

Xi told Modi that China and India should strengthen cooperation, Chinese state media reported Wednesday.

"It is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples that China and India correctly grasp the trend of history and the direction of development of bilateral relations," state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as saying.

"The two sides should strengthen communication and cooperation, properly handle divergences and differences, and realise each other's development dreams," it added.

Xi told Modi that the two countries should "shoulder international responsibilities, set an example for developing countries to seek strength through unity, and contribute to a multi-polar world and democratisation of international relations", CCTV said.

Mutual trust 

Modi said "mutual trust" will guide ties with China, welcoming the "consensus" over the border contestations.

"India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability," Modi said on X. "Mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations."

The leaders of the world's two most populous nations have met briefly on the sidelines of international summits in recent years, but last held face-to-face formal talks when Xi visited Modi in the Indian city of Mahabalipuram in October 2019.

Months later, in 2020, relations plunged after a skirmish along their contested frontier in the high-altitude Himalayan region of Ladakh, in which at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.

China and India are intense rivals and have accused each other of trying to seize territory along their unofficial divide, known as the Line of Actual Control.

Since then, both sides pulled back tens of thousands of troops and agreed not to send patrols into a narrow dividing strip.

But India on Monday said that "agreement has been arrived at on patrolling arrangements" with China, easing the military standoff.