India on Friday rejected a report that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a 'secret letter' to President Droupadi Murmu in a bid to revive ties with New Delhi, and urged the media to exercise due responsibility during coverage.
"We have seen the report and can confirm that the story of the letter is incorrect," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at a press conference. "We would urge our media friends to exercise due responsibility in their reporting."
A recent report by Bloomberg claimed that President Xi sent a 'secret letter' to President Murmu in March this year to reset ties with India amid the ongoing trade war with the United States (US). Quoting an Indian official, the report claimed that Xi, in his letter, expressed "concern about any US deals that would harm China's interest".
The report claimed that the message was sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but it was only in June when his government started a 'serious effort' to reset ties with China. In June, the report claimed that trade talks with the US had turned 'contentious'.
PM Modi's key meet with Prez Xi
Notably, both India and China have recently been trying to improve ties, which plunged to a low following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited China's Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, where he also held a bilateral meeting with President Xi.
During his meet with Xi, PM Modi said India is determined to take the relationship with China forward "based on mutual trust, respect and sensitivity". Meanwhile, Xi said that India and China need to be friends, highlighting that the 'elephant' and 'dragon' need to remain together.
China has also openly supported India against the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Because of this, Trump on Friday claimed that the US has lost India and Russia to 'dark and deepest' China.
