Pramit Chaudhuri highlighted China’s concerns over India’s growing role in global manufacturing and its relations with the United States.
Pramit Chaudhuri, Practice Head for South Asia at Eurasia Group, said the summit worked on multiple levels. “One is a process of normalisation between China and India that goes back to the Galwan Valley border clash in 2020,” he noted.He added that the resumption of direct flights may be announced as part of this step, but warned that “India still sees and continues to see China as its primary strategic competitor and rival.”
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Chaudhuri also underlined another dimension – both countries’ concerns over unilateral US actions in recent years. “References to supporting the multilateral system and global stability are basically in reference to that,” he explained. On the border issue, he pointed to signs that China may reconsider demarcation, a process that has been stalled since 2005.
Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor of Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, described the measures as preliminary. He recalled that in June 2020, India had banned 218 apps, closed Confucius Institutes, and imposed investment restrictions following the Galwan clash.
“Now they are resuming some of these, but the core issue still is the border,” he said. He added that while working groups and commander-level talks have resumed, “both sides have not removed their troops or equipment from the border areas,” leaving tensions unresolved.
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Victor Gao, Vice President of the Centre for China & Globalisation, called the Modi–Xi meeting “a very important step” that could reset relations. But he cautioned against viewing ties as only territorial. “The territorial dispute is not the totality of China–India relations,” he said.
Gao stressed that both nations should move beyond colonial-era legacies and focus on issues such as the bilateral trade balance and regional peace, including stability with Pakistan.
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