From Galwan to Tianjin | Can India and China truly reset?

The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, which concluded on September 1 at Tianjin, China, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He visited China after a gap of seven years and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other leaders.

Modi shared a post on X stating that, “Concluding a productive visit to China, where I attended the SCO Summit and interacted with various world leaders. Also emphasised India’s stand on key global issues”. He also extended a version of the acronym SCO: Security, Connectivity and Opportunity. The visit can be regarded as a success given that the grouping’s joint statement condemned the terrorist attacks in Pahalgam, a feat which was not achieved during the SCO’s defence ministers’ meeting.

There has been a euphoria about the visit in the Indian media as well as policy circles. Most of it pushes the idea of a ‘reset’ in India-China relations following the freeze in ties after the 2020 Galwan clashes. However, there is still a long way to go before we reach a ‘reset’. What should not be ignored is that the leaders were not meeting for the first time after the clashes. They met in October in Kazan, which was underscored by the Modi.

In addition, there has been an ongoing contact at multiple levels, the latest being the 24th Round of Special Representative (SR) talks, which concluded in New Delhi last month. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi attended it and met senior Indian leaders. It cannot be overlooked that from New Delhi, Wang went to Kabul and from there to Islamabad.

The SCO summit takes place at a time when the United States has been on a tariff offensive, imposing 50% on India. Though bilateral meetings we held on the sidelines of the summit, Trump’s tariffs were not a discussion point at the SCO. Modi’s visit to China was not a state visit.

A true reset can only be achieved when the two sides acknowledge the gap in perception. Since the thaw of October, Beijing and New Delhi have been discussing ways to add momentum to the relationship. China has been harping on intensifying the people-to-people contacts, restarting direct flights, the Mansarovar Yatra, and border trade while underscoring that 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. India, on the other hand, has been somewhat firm that a positive direction can only be achieved when there is a movement towards border resolution. Even after almost a year since the thaw, a genuine disengagement has not been achieved between the two armies.

During the SCO summit, talks of the dragon and elephant dancing together and both sides being ‘partners’ gained prominence. Xi told Modi that, “it was the ‘right’ choice for both countries should be ‘friends’ and they should not let the border dispute define their relations”. This underscores that even after 75 years, the two nations fail to understand each other. The trust deficit, which should have reduced over time, has only grown, and the gap has become quite obvious now. Xi’s assertion that it is the ‘right’ choice to be friends reiterates that the US will continue to be the ‘bully’ and New Delhi does not have an alternative but to give in to Beijing’s demands.

It is obvious that the gap is not because the two sides are not talking to each other. India and China had even set a platform for informal talks and had concluded two successful meetings (the Wuhan Summit and the Mamallapuram Summit). However, the Doklam standoff and the Galwan clashes showed the challenges which plague this relationship and the trust gap and the lack of genuine communication.

A talk of ‘civilisational connect ‘and a relationship which can benefit 2.8 billion people sounds good. The issues pertaining to sovereignty in the form of the unresolved border, CPEC, and the reiteration of the ‘One-China policy’ plague the ties. China’s all-weather friendship with Pakistan and Chinese weapons supply to Pakistan, and the Chinese investments in South Asia further complicate the regional aspect. These, coupled with Beijing’s narratives on Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation debate, make this relationship quite challenging. The military and infrastructure projects across the LAC have also mired the relationship.

A true reset will happen only when the two countries can genuinely discuss the problems on an equal footing. There is also a need to understand each other. The push for economic integration has proved that the peace achieved is fragile, and China will not shy away from weaponising its economic prowess.

The differences and the challenge between India and China are more rooted in sovereignty and their perception of their place and position in the Asian and global order. For a genuine reset, China will have to acknowledge India’s concerns, and only then can the two sides begin resolving the roadblocks, which at the moment are too many and too large.

Gunjan Singh is Associate Professor, OP Jindal Global University.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.