China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India met officially for the first time in more than five years on Wednesday at a summit of emerging market countries in Russia, raising the prospect of a potential thaw between the two Asian powers.

       The session came two days after China and India reached a deal on patrolling their shared Himalayan border, the site of a deadly clash between Chinese and Indian forces in 2020. Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have been frosty ever since, with India drawing closer to the United States through a regional security grouping called the Quad.

       In separate statements, both Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi highlighted the need for the neighboring countries to address their differences peacefully.

       Mr. Xi told Mr. Modi a rapprochement was “in the fundamental interests of both countries,” according to Chinese state media, adding that China and India should “set an example for developing countries.”

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       Mr. Modi called for “stable, predictable and amicable” relations between the two nations, the world’s most populous, saying it would have “a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity,” according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

       Both leaders underscored their desire for a more “multipolar” world, an inference to the current global order, where the United States dominates, wielding what China and India regard as unfair influence.

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