Modi to meet China’s top diplomat as ties begin to thaw after years of tension

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday, in a sign of easing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors after years of border standoffs.

Wang arrived in India on Monday and will hold talks with Modi and other senior officials on reducing troop deployments along the disputed Himalayan frontier and potentially reopening trade routes.

The renewed engagement comes at a time when India’s relations with Washington have cooled after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs on Indian goods — even as New Delhi remains part of the U.S.-backed Quad alliance with Australia and Japan.

Relations between India and China soured in 2020 after deadly clashes in Ladakh. Both sides sent tens of thousands of troops to the frontier, straining diplomacy and trade.

Since then, limited progress has been made — including troop pullbacks in some zones, agreements on border patrols, and Beijing allowing Indian pilgrims to visit holy sites in Tibet. Talks are also underway to restart trade at three points along the nearly 3,500 km border.

Still, analysts say true normalization remains elusive.

The thaw began last October when Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Russia summit, their first face-to-face since 2019. Modi is now set to travel to China later this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, marking his first visit in seven years.

Xi has described future relations as a “dragon-elephant tango,” a symbolic dance between the two nations’ emblematic animals.

India’s pivot toward China comes as Trump has deepened ties with Pakistan, hosting its army chief at the White House and signing an energy deal with Islamabad. Pakistan, which recently used Chinese-made jets in clashes with India, remains a close ally of Beijing.