India Says Peace at Border, Open Trade, Key to Reset With China

Udumbara Udumbara
Jul 17, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: Jul 16, 2025 - 16:46
0
India Says Peace at Border, Open Trade, Key to Reset With China

.

India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar called on China to resolve longstanding military tensions and avoid restrictive trade policies during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Monday.

Jaishankar stressed that full normalisation of bilateral relations depends on positive diplomatic progress and open dialogue, during a talk with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.

During his opening remarks, Jaishankar said that “continued normalisation of our ties can produce mutually beneficial outcomes” but made clear that restoring full trust would require pulling back troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)—the de facto boundary between India and China.
The countries share some 2,000 miles of disputed border, which is mostly unmarked. In 2020, a deadly clash occurred after China allegedly advanced troops into territory that India considers its own. It was the largest skirmish in four decades, during which 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers were killed.

Tensions have simmered since the violent face-off, after multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks. Last month, Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh reaffirmed New Delhi’s position during a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, urging Beijing to work toward a “permanent solution” to the border issue. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance led by China and Russia.

Following Monday’s meeting with Wang, Jaishankar said they discussed the need for “a far-seeing approach to bilateral ties” and building a stable and constructive bilateral relationship.

“[It is i]ncumbent on us to address aspects related to the border, normalizing people-to-people exchanges, and avoiding restrictive trade measures & roadblocks,” Jaishankar wrote in a post on X on Monday.
Responding to Jaishankar, the Chinese minister extended an amicable but cautious tone, emphasising shared Eastern civilizational values and the need for pragmatic cooperation. In official readouts, Wang urged both countries to strengthen “mutual trust” and that their relationship should “not be disturbed by third parties.”

Concerns are growing in India over China’s recent export controls on rare earth minerals. Despite possessing the world’s fifth-largest rare earth reserves, India remains dependent on imports for the minerals that are critical for high-tech manufacturing. The country is now taking steps to reduce its vulnerability, including a seven-year national initiative to boost domestic processing of the ores.

The bilateral meeting in Beijing came ahead of Tuesday’s SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting.
The recent talks come at a time of growing global uncertainty, as the United States considers steep secondary tariffs—up to 500 percent—on imports from countries purchasing Russian energy. While not targeted explicitly, both India and China could be impacted by these shifts in U.S. trade policy.
.
Read More