India-China Relations Improve as Border Standoff Ends, Economic Talks Expected

India-China Relations: Border Withdrawal Clears Path for Economic Engagement

After the military standoff on the India-China border was resolved, New Delhi said it was ready to consider developing bilateral economic and trade relations

On December 3, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar announced that India and China are exploring ways to improve their relationship following the withdrawal of border troops from the last two confrontation sites in the disputed Himalayan region, marking a significant step after a four-year standoff that strained bilateral ties.

This development follows an agreement reached in October to disengage troops and comes after a violent clash in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley, which resulted in casualties on both sides. Jaishankar emphasized that normalizing relations is contingent on maintaining peace along the border, which has been a longstanding source of conflict. Both nations are set to hold meetings to address de-escalation and management of border actions, while Indian officials advocate for a cautious approach to enhancing economic and trade ties, suggesting that resuming direct flights and expediting visa approvals could be initial steps towards rebuilding trust.

Key Concepts

• India and China are exploring improvements in their relationship following troop withdrawals from border confrontation sites.
• The recent developments come after a four-year standoff that strained bilateral relations significantly.
• The relationship deteriorated after a violent clash in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley, resulting in casualties on both sides.
• India has implemented measures against China, including banning apps and cutting direct flights, in response to border conflicts.
• Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized that normalizing relations depends on maintaining peace along the border.
• Beijing has stated that border tensions should not impede the overall development of bilateral relations.
• Jaishankar highlighted the importance of national security and peace in border areas for future cooperation.
• Upcoming meetings between officials from both nations aim to address de-escalation and border management.
• The undemarcated 4,000-kilometer border has been a longstanding source of conflict between India and China.
• Indian officials are cautiously optimistic about improving economic ties with China, given the fragile state of mutual trust.
• Resuming direct flights and expediting visa approvals are suggested as initial steps toward better relations.
• The recent summit between Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi marks a commitment to resolving differences and enhancing ties.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday (December 3) that New Delhi and Beijing will seriously consider “other aspects” of their relationship as the two countries’ border troops have completed the withdrawal from the last two face-off sites in the disputed Himalayan border area.

Jaishankar made the remarks in a speech to the Indian Parliament about six weeks after India and China reached an agreement to withdraw their border troops from the last two points of a four-year standoff along their disputed border.

Reuters pointed out in its report that Jaishankar’s latest speech showed that India is ready to improve the economic and trade relations between the two countries, which have been affected and damaged by border conflicts in the past four years.

India and China are the two most populous countries in the world and are also nuclear-armed countries. On June 15, 2020, a cold-weapon fight broke out between the border troops of the two countries in the Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region on the disputed border, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four PLA officers and soldiers and also causing the relationship between the two countries to hit rock bottom.

After the border conflict, New Delhi cut off direct flights between India and China, removed hundreds of Chinese mobile applications from its shelves, and strictly reviewed investments from Chinese companies. India has repeatedly stressed that relations cannot be normal unless the border is peaceful.

Over the past four years, Beijing has repeatedly stressed that the confrontation between China and India in the disputed border area should not affect the development of relations between the two countries in other areas.

“The end of the disengagement phase allows us to now consider seriously other areas of our bilateral relationship, of course prioritizing our national security interests,” Reuters quoted Jaishankar as saying in a speech to India’s parliament.

“We are very clear that maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas is the premise for our development of relations,” Jaishankar said, revealing that senior officials and diplomats from India and China will meet soon to discuss the next steps.

“In the days ahead, we will discuss further detention and effective management of actions on both sides in the border areas,” Jaishankar said.

The 4,000-kilometer-long, mostly undemarcated border in the Himalayas has been a major source of tension for decades, with India and China fighting a brief but bloody border war in 1962.

Reuters reported that China-India relations have been stabilized since 1991 through diplomatic negotiations and the signing of a series of bilateral agreements, and the economic and trade relations between the two countries have also flourished, until the border conflict in mid-June 2020 once again deteriorated relations.

Days after the two sides reached an agreement in October to disengage their troops from the last two face-off sites along their disputed border, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first formal summit in five years on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where both pledged to resolve differences and advance bilateral relations.

India Today quoted Jaishankar as saying in the Indian Parliament that New Delhi remains committed to communicating with Beijing to “reach a fair and mutually acceptable framework for resolving the border issue.”

“Our relations have been dysfunctional since 2020 when peace and tranquility were breached in the border areas due to China’s actions. The recent developments reflect our sustained diplomatic dialogue since then and move our relations in the direction of improvement,” India Today quoted Jaishankar as saying.

Reuters quoted Indian officials as saying that New Delhi will be cautious and move forward step by step in promoting India-China economic and trade relations because the basis of mutual trust between the two sides is still very weak. These officials said that the fastest step to improve relations may be to resume direct flights between the two countries and put visa approval on the fast track.