India-China relations are showing signs of cautious stabilisation after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS summit in Delhi. The two leaders stressed dialogue and a mutually acceptable settlement of their border dispute, while trade, travel and other bilateral links are gradually being restored.
The meeting marked the latest high-level effort to ease tensions that have persisted since the 2020 border clashes in Ladakh. Modi emphasised the importance of mutual respect, sensitivity and interest, while stressing that peace and tranquillity along the border are essential to broader bilateral ties.
Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue on the boundary issue. India said the dispute should be resolved through a fair and mutually acceptable settlement, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the meeting as producing the “most important consensus” on the future direction of relations.
There are also signs of practical de-escalation. Bilateral trade, business contacts, people-to-people exchanges and mobility are being restored, while direct flights between India and China are resuming. India’s defence ministry also reported a significant reduction in China’s military deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) during 2025, with 10 combined-arms brigade-sized formations reported in areas along the border and traditional training zones.
The reduction follows the 2024 disengagement agreement and renewed diplomatic and military dialogue. However, it represents a decrease in forward deployment rather than a complete withdrawal. Chinese military infrastructure and forces remain near the LAC, while India continues to maintain a substantial deployment.
The boundary dispute remains the main obstacle to a full normalisation of relations. India continues to raise concerns over competing perceptions of the LAC, Chinese activities and access to patrol areas, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as Chinese territory. Recent allegations of Chinese activity in the Taksing area have also renewed concern, although the Indian government rejected claims that China had captured or occupied Indian territory.
Unlike the clashes of 2020, there has been no publicly documented recent incident of comparable scale. Current concerns instead focus on patrol access, infrastructure, competing territorial claims and the military presence along the LAC.
The latest developments point to a shift from confrontation toward cautious stabilisation, but the relationship remains fragile. A deeper reset would depend on whether Delhi and Beijing can build on the current de-escalation while addressing the unresolved boundary dispute and their broader strategic differences.
