India-China relations

Beijing wants to believe that friction with Trump will push India toward China. That’s a flawed assumption – but one that speaks to Chinese anxieties. 

Since the Cold War, relations have followed a pattern: a thaw, followed by a concoction or recycling of the boundary dispute.

Can data alone map out the countries that are most important for India? To a degree – yes.

How far will the thaw sustain China-India ties in 2025 and beyond, especially given the return of Donald Trump to the White House?

2024 brought a thaw that is likely to deepen over the coming year, but a number of uncertainties threaten to limit progress.

The détente between India and China is beneficial for both sides, but there are several factors that could lead to future crises.

A high-level meeting between Indian and Chinese officials in Beijing is scheduled for later this month.

India must navigate a complex two-level game, balancing domestic demands with global strategic imperatives. But will China view India’s willingness to disengage as a sign of pragmatism or weakness? 

Some observers are flummoxed by India’s approaches to fostering order in the Indo-Pacific, yet its methods largely align with its outlook for a multipolar Indo-Pacific.

A spurt in high-level meetings has changed the mood in China-India diplomacy, but there are reasons for India to remain skeptical.

The first public reactions to the border agreement reflect a deep suspicion of New Delhi’s “cheap tricks” and fear that Beijing is being naive. 

The two sides have agreed on patrolling arrangements along their disputed border in the Himalayas.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will have to strike a deft balance between two regional powers.

Even if New Delhi and Beijing decide to collaborate on the economic front, it might not be enough to shift the needle on their relationship.

India does not lack potential, but on both the geopolitical and geoeconomic fronts it has yet to seize the moment.

As far as China-India bilateral relations are concerned, New Delhi has sent repeated signals that it will stick to its position that relations can’t improve until the border mess is cleared up.

From Tawang to Taiwan, assessing the geopolitical rivalry and geostrategic competition.

New Delhi’s plan to rename sites in Tibet – a response to China’s own renaming blitz in Arunachal Pradesh – is “tantamount to India reopening the Tibetan question.”

Political and security tensions are on the rise, but so is the value of China-India trade. 

Despite flashes of actual conflict along their border, and New Delhi’s increased outreach to the West, relations between China and India have never completely broken down.

India has kept a close watch on China’s activities and responded strongly where its security was directly affected.

As bilateral ties strengthen, will India disrupt its ambiguous Taiwan policy?

Authors Shivaji Das and Yolanda Yu explore the “love and turmoil” faced by Indian-Chinese interracial relationships.

There was no thaw, but 2023 brought some promising stabilization in the relationship between Beijing and New Delhi.