China and India Top Diplomats Meet in Beijing to Renew Ties

Fri Jan 24 2025
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Key points

  • Relations became bitter after a border clash
  • Meeting to discuss next steps in India-China relations
  • Xi Jinping and Modi’s meeting at BRICS made context for the meeting
  • India’s national security adviser met the Chinese foreign minister in December 2024

ISLAMABAD: Top diplomats from China and India meet in the coming week in Beijing as the two neighbours try to renew ties that were deteriorated by a border conflict around five years ago.

According to Bloomberg, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will meet with their Chinese counterpart during a two-day visit to Beijing which will start on 26 January.

External Affairs Ministry said, “The resumption of this bilateral mechanism flows from the agreement at the leadership level to discuss the next steps for India-China relations.”

After June 2020, diplomatic and economic ties between the two neighbours declined when clashes among soldiers along the border left at least 20 Indian and an undeclared number of Chinese forces dead.

Troops deployment

The two countries moved hundreds of troops, missiles, and fighter jets along parts of the 3,488-kilometre unmarked border as the relations became bitter.

Moreover, India also imposed strict regulations on Chinese businesses trying to invest in the country along with banning hundreds of Chinese apps and slowing visa approvals.

In October, the two neighbours decided to stabilise relations after Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the BRICS summit in Russia.

Ajit Doval, India’s national security adviser, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing last December. It was decided that the two sides would refine the rules for border management and improve confidence-building measures in order to achieve sustainable peace and stability in the border areas.

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