Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday. This meeting comes as relations between the Asian rivals are improving amid the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on New Delhi. Modi’s visit is his first to China in seven years and is for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional security bloc, which also includes Russia and Iran.
This marks Modi’s first visit since a deadly clash in 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops on their disputed Himalayan border. The two neighbors share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been a source of conflict since the 1950s.
Here is a timeline of the warming of ties since the military standoff began five years ago:
- 2020: In June 2020, at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, northern India. That same year, New Delhi increased its scrutiny of Chinese investments, banned popular Chinese mobile apps, and ended direct passenger air routes between the countries.
- December 2022: Minor border scuffles broke out between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China also claims as part of southern Tibet.
- August 2023: Modi and Xi met in Johannesburg on the sidelines of a BRICS summit. They agreed to intensify efforts to disengage and de-escalate tensions.
- September 2024: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, speaking at an event in Geneva, stated that about 75% of the “disengagement” issues at India’s border with China had been resolved. India’s aviation minister also signaled a thaw, writing in a post on X that the two countries had discussed the early resumption of direct passenger flights on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in Delhi.
- October 2024: Both nations reached an agreement on patrolling their disputed frontier to end the military standoff. On October 23, Modi and Xi held their first formal talks in five years in Russia on the sidelines of a BRICS summit. The leaders agreed to boost communication and cooperation and to resolve conflicts to help improve ties.
- December 2024: Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval traveled to China to hold the first formal talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the border issue after the October agreement. Doval and Wang were designated as special representatives by their countries to discuss the border issue.
- January 2025: Wang and India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks in China. Both sides agreed to resume direct air services and work on resolving differences over trade and economic issues.
- April 2025: A Chinese embassy spokesperson said that India and China should stand together to overcome difficulties in the face of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
- July 2025: Jaishankar made his first visit to China in five years. He stated that India and China must resolve border friction, pull back troops, and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship. Reuters reported that a top Indian government think tank had proposed easing rules that effectively require extra scrutiny for investments from Chinese companies.
- August 2025: While on a visit to New Delhi, Wang told his Indian counterpart that China and India should establish a “correct strategic understanding” and view each other as partners, not rivals. Later in the month, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong stated at an event in New Delhi that China opposes Washington’s steep tariffs on India and will “firmly stand with India.”
