India, China agree to cool border row

• Chinese troops backed down after Modi-Xi talks
• India 'instigating' incidents on borders: Chinese media
• Xi quotes Tagore, Gandhi to spiritually connect with Indians
• Chinese Prez invites Modi to visit his hometown Xi'an
• ‘Pact on Kailash Mansarovar will hurt religious sentiments’

New Delhi/Beijing: China on Friday said President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to India has given a "great boost" to bilateral ties and the two sides should control and manage border disputes in a manner that does not impede growth of their relationship.

"We believe that this visit is of great importance and gives great boost to bilateral ties between the two countries in a new historical era," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

"Xi said on border issues, the two sides should continue with friendly coordination and pursue an equitable and fair solution that is acceptable to both the countries," Hong said . Xi Jinping told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during talks that he had ordered his country's troops to back down from an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation at the border, sources said. Modi raised Chinese incursions at Ladakh for the second time in two days, President Xi told him he had directed the troops to pull back.

Xi Jinping tried to spiritually connect with Indians by quoting poets like Rabindranath Tagore whose works are very popular in China, analysts have said.

Xi has quoted a wide range of prominent figures and idiomatic phrases from China and India to illustrate Beijing's diplomatic philosophy and its increased priorities in South Asia during his address at the Indian Council of World Affairs yesterday, state media reported.

Xi also quoted Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

"Grow like a summer flower, magnificently; die like an autumn leaf, quietly and beautifully!" Xi said, quoting Tagore, adding that he had read several poetry collections of the late Nobel Prize winner in literature.

Even as Chinese troops began withdrawing from the Chumar, the official media here accused India of "instigating" incidents on the borders to divert attention during important visits of Chinese leaders.

The Chinese think-tanks also said that India has taken an "offensive" strategy to get more leverage in talks, a day after visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Delhi.

On Friday morning, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh met Xi Jinping . They were also accompanied by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

Opposing the Indo-China pact on seeking an alternative route to Mansarovar through Nathula in Sikkim, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said it goes against the religious sentiments of people across the country (opposes the sanctity of the traditional route). Xi Jinping has invited Modi to visit his home town of Xi'an when the Indian leader visits China.