Despite years of mistrust, recent memories of the 2020 Galwan clash and unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control, India and China have in recent times resumed high-level talks.
Even as the ties remain tense and confidence-building measures still limited, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly set to visit Tianjin, China, later this month as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
A backdrop of the Galwan battle is necessary here. Twenty Indian soldiers died following Chinese troops’ incursion into Ladakh.
Since then, disengagement between the two nations has been achieved at all face-off points. Yet the core issues of de-escalation and resumption of regular patrols are significant questions.
There is also a critical matter of China’s arms exports to Pakistan. During Operation Sindoor, the Pakistani armed forces displayed their ‘Made in China’ export-variant arsenal, claimed reports.
After over four years of tensions, Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan on 23 October 2024. Just prior to that meeting, India and China had agreed to restart patrols in the Depsang area of Eastern Ladakh.
A semblance of peace followed, including the reopening of visas for Chinese nationals by India and the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra by China.
China is also looking to restart direct air travel from India for both Indian and Chinese airlines, although there is no confirmation on whether India has permitted it.
Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), is scheduled to visit India on August 18. Reports claim that he will have discussions with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the broader border issues.
Doval is currently in Russia for his annual meeting with counterpart Sergei Shoigu. This meeting is expected to lay the groundwork for President Putin’s long-delayed visit to India, which has been pending since the start of the Ukraine conflict.
It is also learnt that PM Modi may visit Japan on 30 August before heading to China for the SCO summit.
The renewed engagement between India and China comes at a time when India’s relations with the United States have taken a sharp downward turn. President Donald Trump, citing India’s continued oil imports from Russia and growing defence cooperation with Moscow, recently imposed fresh tariffs targeting key Indian exports.
Tension with Washington has also been fuelled by growing strategic divergence. India has resisted pressure to align fully with the West on sanctions against Russia, while continuing to deepen its defence and energy partnerships with Moscow.
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