Amid the stand-off between India and China in Sikkim and exchange of cold and curt statements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a warm, cordial meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on Friday.

The two leaders shook hands and greeted each other as the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, met informally.

A foreign ministry statement said, “Mr Xi, appreciated India’s strong resolve against terrorism and the momentum in BRICS introduced under India’s chairmanship and through the outcomes of the Goa Summit in 2016. He also appreciated India’s success in economic and social development and wished India even bigger success.”

Modi, who spoke just before Jinping, “appreciated momentum in BRICS under the chairmanship of President Xi and extended cooperation and best wishes for the BRICS summit to be held in China’s Xiamen later this year,” the ministry statement said.

While Modi is set to meet leaders from Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, no formal meeting is scheduled with the Chinese President. China said yesterday, “The atmosphere is not right for a formal meeting between them.” India has sought no such meeting.

The G20, founded in 1999, is a group of the world’s largest and most industrialised economies including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.