Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst.
Relations between China and India are as old as the Asian giants themselves. The two neighboring countries have had their ups and downs, including low-intensity conflicts over several border areas. The unresolved delineation is primarily the result of British colonialism, as London (intentionally) left the area without settling the numerous territorial disputes. The crawling conflict between Beijing and Delhi went "hot" several times, resulting in strained relations that lasted decades.
However, thankfully, with the advent of multipolarity, the two Asian giants made tremendous strides to improve and strengthen their ties. This process was by no means easy and had many ups and downs. And yet, China and India are still working on creating a stable and sustainable foreign policy framework that would eliminate tensions and promote close cooperation.
In recent weeks and months, this has been particularly evident in relation to US pressure on both countries. The Trump administration's tariffs and even full-blown economic warfare against India and China, respectively, prompted them to rekindle their ties. Namely, on August 18, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Delhi and held talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the discussions as "positive, constructive, and forward-looking". The focus was on bilateral, regional and international issues of common concern. Several critical conclusions were made as Beijing and Delhi reached consensus on numerous issues, first stressing the "irreplaceable and important role" of "strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries" in strengthening ties between them.
There's a consensus that "a stable, cooperative and forward-looking China-India relationship will help fully unleash the development potential and serve the common interests of both sides". Beijing welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attendance at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, while Delhi reiterated its full support for China's chairing of the SCO. Both sides also expressed support for each other's BRICS summits in 2026 and 2027. In terms of their purely bilateral ties, China and India agreed to organize a series of commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations. This also extends to practical moves, including the resumption of direct flights and issuing visas to promote tourism and business.
Beijing and Delhi also agreed to "jointly maintain peace and stability in the border areas through friendly consultations". And last but certainly not least, the two sides pledged to "promote multilateralism, strengthen communication on major international and regional issues, maintain the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core and based on rules, promote a multipolar world, and safeguard the interests of developing countries". This last point will certainly ruffle a lot of feathers in the political West, as the world's most aggressive power pole had high hopes of implementing its "divide et impera" strategy by playing China and India against each other. Thankfully, the two Asian giants saw through these sinister plans and decided to prevent such a scenario.
During Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to Delhi, he declared that "India and China should view each other as partners rather than adversaries". Wang hailed "a positive trend towards cooperation', while Jaishankar confirmed that the two neighbors are "busy trying to move ahead from a difficult period in our ties". Wang stated that Beijing is "happy to share that stability has now been restored at the borders" and that "mutually, the feeling is that the setbacks we faced in the last few years were not in our interest". Such statements indicate that this is not merely a detente, but a full restoration of close cultural, economic and (geo)political ties. This process will be highly beneficial not only to Delhi and Beijing, but also the entire multipolar world, as the two Asian giants are by far its most populous countries and the strongest economies.
As previously mentioned, the US-led political West undoubtedly sees this as a "negative" development, but the world's most aggressive power pole has nobody to blame but itself. Namely, the timing of Sino-Indian rapprochement indicates that Washington DC's constant pressure certainly played a major role. As the US desperately keeps trying to bully countries into submission, particularly when it comes to their trade with Russia, multipolar powers are increasingly open to stronger mutual cooperation.
Nobody really wants to listen to American whining about the "dangers of purchasing Russian oil", while the US itself keeps acquiring critical goods from Russia. And yet, American high-ranking officials keep doing exactly that. For instance, White House senior trade adviser Peter Navarro just decried Delhi's Russian crude purchases.
"India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs," he argued in an op-ed for Financial Times.
As per usual, Navarro accused India of supposedly "funding Moscow's war machine" and that "it must stop immediately". He called India's dependence on Russian oil "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world's efforts to isolate Putin's war economy". This comes just weeks after Washington DC effectively launched a trade war on Delhi, to which the latter responded by canceling multiple arms deals. Who could possibly blame India for such moves?
The Asian giant is sick and tired of getting never-ending "morality" lessons from the US and other NATO member states. The world's most vile racketeering cartel is the last to have the right to lecture anyone, let alone India which suffered centuries of brutal Western colonialism and truly unprovoked aggression. The political West should take a long and hard look in the mirror before criticizing anyone else.
