China and India seek reset in talks, but old fault lines remain

Senior diplomats from China and India met in New Delhi on Tuesday for what Beijing described as a new round of strategic dialogue, emphasising the need to view each other as partners rather than competitors amid shifting global dynamics.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hosted China’s Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, who was in the country for the Brics Sherpa Meeting from February 8 to 10.

The two sides’ readouts of the meeting, however, revealed a persistent gap in how the neighbours continue to frame their relationship.

While Beijing appeared to promote a vision of “partnership” aimed at drawing New Delhi closer, India remained focused on practical and incremental stabilisation, reflecting lingering mistrust after the 2020 border clashes and India’s need to balance ties with both China and an increasingly transactional United States.

China’s Foreign Ministry readout portrayed the exchanges as “friendly, candid and in-depth”, underscoring a shared view that the two countries should treat each other as “partners rather than competitors” and as “mutual development opportunities rather than threats”.

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Beijing’s statement called for enhancing “mutual trust, expand cooperation, properly handle differences, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations”.

South China Morning Post