Candid talks for elevating China-India relations

The beauty of the "informal" summit between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan, Hubei province, is that it comes with no baggage, only expectations. It is free of the usual diplomatic frills, somewhat beyond the global media limelight.

And, if as expected, the "heart-to-heart" communication between the two leaders on Friday reflected their deepened mutual chemistry. Which, in turn, will be conducive to improving mutual trust between the neighbors and charting the course of long-term bilateral development.

There is no denying, however, that mutual suspicion is keeping the two countries from deepening cooperation and working together on regional and international issues, from fighting climate change to improving global governance. The border incident last summer was just one example of what mutual suspicion could lead to, reminding both sides of the disruptive potential of distrust.