White House gives thumbs up to Modi-Xi 'informal' summit

Washington: The White House has given a thumbs up to last week's meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying it was a "good thing" that the world leaders were getting along.

After their informal summit meeting in China for two days, Modi and Xi agreed to improve communication over military and security matters.

The two leaders directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence-building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions.

Asked to comment on the summit, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders yesterday said the Trump administration had good relationship with both India and China, and wanted things to continue down the same road.

"(I) certainly think it's always good when other world leaders are getting along," Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

"And, certainly, when we can cooperate, that's definitely a good thing. We have a great relationship with both countries and hope to continue to do so," Sanders said.