Shibani Mehta & Saheb Singh Chadha
A new phase of high-level India-China dialogue has been unlocked following the October 21, 2024, agreement on border patrolling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, along with both nations’ foreign and defence ministers, have held meetings since then, with the ministers’ talks concluding just last week. The two sides have also agreed to resume dialogue at the Special Representatives and foreign secretary-vice minister levels. These developments signal long-awaited progress in a prolonged border standoff, breaking the diplomatic ice that had frozen ties between Asia’s largest neighbours since the summer of 2020. Behind these positive steps lies a carefully orchestrated diplomatic manoeuvre, revealing much about the evolving dynamics of one of Asia’s most complex bilateral relationships.
Breaking the Ice
The path to this moment began seven months earlier, in April 2024, when both nations began taking careful steps toward finding common ground. Prime Minister Modi’s characterisation of the relationship with China as “important and significant” served as a clear diplomatic signal from the very top level of Indian decision-making. While maintaining India’s firm stance on the border standoff, these words offered an olive branch to Beijing. China’s response came in May with the appointment of an ambassador to India after an 18-month vacancy, reopening a crucial channel of communication.
The real momentum, however, built after India’s June elections with an intensive period of diplomatic engagement. The Foreign ministers met twice in July. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on Border Affairs (WMCC) held two meetings barely a month apart between July and August. The national security advisors met on the sidelines of a BRICS gathering in September. Most significantly, corps commanders from both sides engaged in discussions spanning ten days in October to hammer out the details of the agreement.
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