India and China on Saturday concluded the second "informal summit" on a positive yet cautious note. In a span of 24-hours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping spent more than six hours on a "one-to-one" basis. From the "Wuhan Spirit" of April 2018, the second summit has been coined as the "Chennai Connect".

The two leaders "had an in-depth exchange of views in a friendly atmosphere on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance," the press statement issued by India said.

The visit took place after a bilateral meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Xi Jinping in Beijing. While Kashmir figured very strongly in the Pakistan-China joint statement, it did not come up for discussion in the Mamallapuram summit.

Sources had told India Today TV that the matter would only be discussed if China raises it since it is not an area of concern for India.

After the tete-a-tete on Saturday and ahead of the delegation-level talks, both the leaders delivered their opening remarks where PM Modi said, "We had decided that we will manage our differences prudently and won't allow them to turn into disputes. We will remain sensitive about our concerns and our relationship will contribute towards peace and stability in the world."

India indeed has shown greater sensitivity to China and its issues such as the handling of the issue of Tibetans and the Dalai Lama in India or for that matter, the reticence in joining chorus with the international community on the issue of Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Speaking to the reporters after the meeting, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Kashmir did not come up in the discussions between the two leaders. However, he added, "Our position is anyways clear that this is an internal matter of India."

On the security and terrorism front, both leaders discussed the biggest challenge that the two countries face is that of radicalisation. But to a question on whether Pak-based terror groups figured in the talks, Vijay Gokhale said, "The objective of the summit was to have a discussion in an overarching manner. The leadership was focused on the kind of threats the complex societies such as our face. There was no specific discussion of any kind. Pakistan came up only in the context of the meeting that President Xi had with PM Imran Khan."

While China did not raise Kashmir, India did not raise Pak-based terrorism. Both the countries kept each others' sensitivities in mind.

"Both leaders are concerned that terrorism continues to pose a common threat. As countries that are large and diverse, they recognised the importance of continuing to make joint efforts to ensure that the international community strengthens the framework against training, financing and supporting terrorist groups throughout the world and on a non-discriminatory basis", the MEA statement said.

President Xi, in his opening remarks, proposed that the informal format should be made an annual affair.

"There has been deeper effective cooperation with the informal summit. It was the right decision. We should continue with this form. We are important neighbours and have to remain engaged in discussion as friends, with a heart to heart connect on bilateral ties. This was an in-depth engagement," he said.

One of the biggest takeaways from the meet was addressing the trade deficit between the two countries.

"In pursuit of their efforts to further deepen economic cooperation and to enhance their closer development partnership, the two leaders have decided to establish a high-level economic and trade dialogue mechanism with the objective of achieving enhanced trade and commercial relations, as well as to better balance the trade between the two countries," the MEA statement stated.

Vijay Gokhale said, "A new mechanism will be established to discuss trade, investment and services, at an elevated level. From China, it will be the Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and from India it will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman."

The two sides have also agreed on the importance of concluding negotiations for a mutually-beneficial and balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which would create an "open", "inclusive", "prosperous" and "stable" economic environment in the region.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the outstanding "boundary question" and instructed the special representatives to "continue their efforts to arrive at a mutually-agreed framework for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement based on political parameters and guiding principles that were agreed by the two sides in 2005."

The last meeting between special representatives - Ajit Doval and Wang Yi - was "rescheduled" upon India's request due to scheduling issues.

Connectivity, sustainable development goals, climate change, cultural exchange, increasing people-to-people connectivity, among other areas were discussed in the summit.

While India focussed on trade, China focussed on defence and strategies. President Xi Jinping asserted that enhanced cooperation in this area will reduce the "trust deficit".

But, to reduce trust deficit, the two nations will have to move beyond optics and statements since there is a very little change in the language of the press statement from Wuhan but a vast difference in the attitude and the character of the India-China relationship.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended an invitation to PM Narendra Modi for the third informal summit in China. PM Modi has accepted President Xi's invite to visit China.

China, in its statement after the summit, said President Xi made suggestions such as a correct view of each other's development should be taken by both the countries and "enhance strategic mutual trust".

"No matter from any point of view, China and India should be good neighbours and good partners who live in harmony and move forward hand in hand. To achieve "Dragon and Elephant Dance" is the only correct choice for China and India, which is in the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples. The two countries should and should be able to walk out of a grand road of friendly cooperation between two neighbouring powers," China press statement stated.

It further read that the two countries should "improve the level of military security exchanges and cooperation", "strengthen cooperation in international and regional affairs", "enrich cultural exchanges and lay a solid foundation for friendship", "deepen pragmatic cooperation and tighten interest ties" and "carry out strategic communication in a timely and effective manner".