Prime Minister Narendra Modi had likened bilateral ties to a “family”, said “no real history of conflict”
China on Monday (March 17, 2025) welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India and China have achieved “normalcy” at the border after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and that the two sides were restoring ties to pre-2020, while ensuring that “differences don’t become disputes”. The comments, made to a US-based podcaster are by far the strongest indicator that Delhi and Beijing are prepared to move beyond the tensions of the past five years, including the Galwan clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed by PLA soldiers, and incursions over the Line of Actual Control.
Mr. Modi’s comments follow a few months after the Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi said the situation at the LAC were “stable, but not normal”, and that a “degree of standoff” remained between the two armies, and experts have questioned whether relations can be “normalised” without completing the withdrawal of troops on both sides of the disputed line.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning called the comments in the interview to Podcaster Lex Fridman, a “positive statement on China-India relations”.
Referring to the October 23 Modi-Xi meeting in St Petersburg on the side-lines of a BRICS summit, the Chinese spokesperson said that the two sides “have earnestly implemented the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at all levels, and achieved a series of positive results.”
During the interview, Mr. Modi, who has spoken very rarely about the standoff with China (2020-2024), that had followed a period of intense interactions between him and Mr. Xi (2014-2020), also said that India and China have “no real history of conflict” and that the relationship should remain “just as strong in the future”. While India and China were have not fought each other historically, they have had tensions at the unresolved boundary between them for decades after they went to war in 1962.
Likening the two neighbours to a “family”, Mr. Modi added that there may be “occasional disagreements”, and that “even within a family, not everything is always perfect”.
Ms. Mao said that the Chinese government had “noted and appreciated” the comments and also pointed to more than “2,000-year history of China-India exchanges, friendly exchanges, mutual learning and mutual understanding”, echoing Mr. Modi’s words.
“It is the only right choice for China and India to be partners who contribute to each other’s success and to realize the ‘Dance of the Dragon and the Elephant’, “ Ms. Mao continued, referring to the Chinese depiction of India as an elephant.
The warm statements follow visits to Beijing by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, as well as meetings between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the last few months, and could suggest more bilateral exchanges this year. Mr. Modi is also expected to travel to China in June to attend the SCO summit hosted by President Xi. Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar said earlier this month that officials are working on the resumption of travel links, business and tourist visas, the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, and the return of journalists.
However, analysts point out that a reset in ties must include an economic reset of ties given the large bilateral trade deficit of more than $100 billion, and Indian restrictions on Chinese Foreign Direct Investment. Speaking at a seminar in Delhi on Monday organised by the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Hong Kong-based economist Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Fellow at European think-tank Bruegel, presented a survey on comparative economics that also showed that “public sentiment” in India was “more negative” than in the rest of the world.
“The security situation at the border is not really settled. This is the first phase of the [withdrawal of troops], and infrastructure is still being built on both sides of the [LAC],” Ms. Garcia-Herrero told The Hindu. “The sentiment is still very negative in India about China over the border [incursions], so it’s going to be very hard for the government to fight that sentiment back,” she added.
China welcomes PM comments on ‘normalcy’ at border after meeting with Xi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had likened bilateral ties to a “family”, said “no real history of conflict”
China on Monday (March 17, 2025) welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India and China have achieved “normalcy” at the border after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and that the two sides were restoring ties to pre-2020, while ensuring that “differences don’t become disputes”. The comments, made to a US-based podcaster are by far the strongest indicator that Delhi and Beijing are prepared to move beyond the tensions of the past five years, including the Galwan clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed by PLA soldiers, and incursions over the Line of Actual Control.
Mr. Modi’s comments follow a few months after the Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi said the situation at the LAC were “stable, but not normal”, and that a “degree of standoff” remained between the two armies, and experts have questioned whether relations can be “normalised” without completing the withdrawal of troops on both sides of the disputed line.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning called the comments in the interview to Podcaster Lex Fridman, a “positive statement on China-India relations”.
Referring to the October 23 Modi-Xi meeting in St Petersburg on the side-lines of a BRICS summit, the Chinese spokesperson said that the two sides “have earnestly implemented the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at all levels, and achieved a series of positive results.”
During the interview, Mr. Modi, who has spoken very rarely about the standoff with China (2020-2024), that had followed a period of intense interactions between him and Mr. Xi (2014-2020), also said that India and China have “no real history of conflict” and that the relationship should remain “just as strong in the future”. While India and China were have not fought each other historically, they have had tensions at the unresolved boundary between them for decades after they went to war in 1962.
Likening the two neighbours to a “family”, Mr. Modi added that there may be “occasional disagreements”, and that “even within a family, not everything is always perfect”.
Ms. Mao said that the Chinese government had “noted and appreciated” the comments and also pointed to more than “2,000-year history of China-India exchanges, friendly exchanges, mutual learning and mutual understanding”, echoing Mr. Modi’s words.
“It is the only right choice for China and India to be partners who contribute to each other’s success and to realize the ‘Dance of the Dragon and the Elephant’, “ Ms. Mao continued, referring to the Chinese depiction of India as an elephant.
The warm statements follow visits to Beijing by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, as well as meetings between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the last few months, and could suggest more bilateral exchanges this year. Mr. Modi is also expected to travel to China in June to attend the SCO summit hosted by President Xi. Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar said earlier this month that officials are working on the resumption of travel links, business and tourist visas, the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, and the return of journalists.
However, analysts point out that a reset in ties must include an economic reset of ties given the large bilateral trade deficit of more than $100 billion, and Indian restrictions on Chinese Foreign Direct Investment. Speaking at a seminar in Delhi on Monday organised by the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), Hong Kong-based economist Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Fellow at European think-tank Bruegel, presented a survey on comparative economics that also showed that “public sentiment” in India was “more negative” than in the rest of the world.
“The security situation at the border is not really settled. This is the first phase of the [withdrawal of troops], and infrastructure is still being built on both sides of the [LAC],” Ms. Garcia-Herrero told The Hindu. “The sentiment is still very negative in India about China over the border [incursions], so it’s going to be very hard for the government to fight that sentiment back,” she added.
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