WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump offered to act as a future mediator between China and India when asked about recent tensions on the border between the two countries.

Trump spoke to reporters on Thursday after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House.

“I look at India and I do see the skirmishes on the border and I guess they continue to go on,” he said. “If I could be of help, I would love to help.”

Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia last October on the sidelines of a summit for leaders of developing nations shortly after their governments reached an agreement over a disputed area along their shared border.

Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops faced off in June 2020 at three or four locations in the western Himalayas after Beijing’s forces intruded into Indian territory, according to Indian security officials and local media.

China denied intruding into Indian territory near the Galwan River in the mountainous Ladakh region.

Trump was also asked on Thursday about how he expects the United States to compete with China if it also implements tough trade measures on India.

“We are in very good shape to beat anybody we want, but we are not looking to beat anybody. We are looking to do a really good job,” Trump said, adding that he expects to have a “very good relationship with China.”

Modi noted the summit of leaders from the Quad — made up of the United States, India, Australia and Japan — is scheduled to be held in India this year, possibly in September.

The grouping formally convened in 2007 but it was largely dormant until Trump revived it a decade later during his first presidency. The Quad was a pillar of the Biden administration’s efforts to counter China.

China has derided the grouping as a relic of what it calls a U.S.-driven “Cold War” mindset and insisted that it has no designs for territorial expansion or aggression in the vast Indo-Pacific region.

Modi said he looked forward to hosting Trump in New Delhi for the summit.

“The partnership between India and the U.S. strengthens democracy and democratic values and systems,” he said.

Trump’s comments about engagement with China appear reflective of the “different approaches he’s contemplating, and different voices among those around him, on how much to engage or compete with Beijing, and in what manner,” said Dhruva Jaishankar, executive director of the Washington-based Observer Research Foundation America.

Edited by Tenzin Pema and Matt Reed.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Tenzin Dickyi and Passang Dhonden for RFA Tibetan.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.