China India Photo:CFP
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Wednesday that while India and China will have issues in the "foreseeable future," there are ways to address them without getting into a conflict. These remarks came amid widespread reports in Indian local media suggesting that India is looking to reset its ties with China, and with discussions underway in the South Asian country aimed at "diluting or neutralizing" some of the restrictions on trade and investments that were put in place five years ago following clashes between Chinese and Indian soldiers in Galwan in 2020.
Speaking with the Asia Society, Jaishankar said that "we know that, between India and China...at least in the foreseeable future, there will be issues, but there are ways of addressing those issues, and what happened in 2020 was not the way," Reuters reported.
Commenting on the Indian foreign minster's latest remarks, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, said that India is sending positive signals toward improving ties with China, reflecting a strategic shift amid evolving global and regional dynamics.
The shift, he added, includes a diplomatic reassessment of the risks associated with over-reliance on the US, prompting India to adopt a more neutral and balanced stance among major powers. Qian explained that economic pragmatism is driving efforts to strengthen China-India trade cooperation, maintain stable supply chains, mitigate the impact of US tariff pressures and boost domestic manufacturing. This shift is also facilitated by the recent easing of tensions along the China-India border, creating a favorable environment for dialogue, he noted.
As 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, China and India are expected to seize the opportunity to enhance high-level engagement, gradually resume dialogue mechanisms, deepen economic and trade cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges. As April 1 approaches, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and India, the interactions between these two neighboring Asian countries - whose bilateral ties faced significant strain after the 2020 border clash - have taken a notably more constructive tone, observers said.
On March 25, Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hong Liang and Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs of India Gourangalal Das co-chaired the 33rd Meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs in Beijing.
With a positive, constructive and forward-looking attitude, the two sides had a comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views focusing on implementing the common understandings reached about negotiations of boundary delimitation, border control, mechanism development, cross-border communication and cooperation, and other topics during the 23rd meeting between the Special Representatives of China and India on the boundary question held in December 2024.
The two sides agreed to take concrete and effective measures to continuously maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, and actively prepare for the 24th meeting between the Special Representatives of China and India on the boundary question.
On March 25, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei also met with Das. The two sides had an exchange of views on China-India relations, the border situation between the two countries, and other issues.
Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong and Das co-chaired a meeting in Beijing, which the Chinese Foreign Ministry described as "candid, practical, and constructive."
Both sides agreed to further facilitate and promote people-to-people exchanges, including arrangements for the resumption of direct flights, interaction between media and think tanks, and the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, according to the release.
According to the India Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides also took stock of the planned exchanges and activities this year. They discussed resumption of dialogue mechanisms in a step-by-step manner to utilize them to address each other's priority areas of interest and concern and move relations on to a more stable and predictable path.
Both sides have identified 2025 as a key milestone for improving ties. Seizing this opportunity, China and India are expected to enhance high-level engagement, gradually resume dialogue mechanisms, deepen economic and trade cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges, laying a solid foundation for the steady development of bilateral relations and fostering a more amicable atmosphere for China-India relations to return to a healthy trajectory, Qian told the Global Times on Thursday.
