External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday, 22 July that relations between India and China have been on a path of gradual normalisation since the 2024 Kazan summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a landmark bilateral meeting. Speaking at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of ASEAN engagements in Manila, Philippines, Jaishankar stressed the need for fair market access and a rebalanced trade relationship.

Key Developments in Manila

Jaishankar's opening remarks framed the bilateral relationship around three pillars: mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual sensitivity. He noted that the trajectory set at Kazan was reinforced when the two leaders met again in Tianjin last August. “Such a relationship can make a valuable contribution to a multi-polar ASEAN and a multi-polar world,” he said.

The minister also welcomed concrete steps taken in recent months to restore normalcy, including the resumption of direct flights, updates to the visa regime, the restarting of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, and the recommencement of border trade.

Border Peace as a Non-Negotiable Prerequisite

Jaishankar was unambiguous on the security dimension, describing peace and tranquility along the border areas as an “obvious prerequisite” for normal ties. He said both sides had been actively engaged on this objective since October 2024 and called for continued attention and full support to relevant bilateral mechanisms.

“It is the responsibility of diplomacy to properly manage” differences between the two nations, he said, echoing the formulation agreed upon by both leaders that “differences should not become disputes.”

Trade Imbalance and Supply Chain Concerns

Beyond the political and security dimensions, Jaishankar raised substantive economic concerns. Fair market access and trade balance featured prominently, alongside worries about the predictability of supply chains — a pointed reference to India’s deep dependence on Chinese imports across electronics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial components.

He also called for facilitating both official exchanges and people-to-people contacts, and urged agreement on meetings of various bilateral mechanisms in line with mutual priorities. Notably, Jaishankar expressed appreciation for China’s support for BRICS activities under India’s presidency, signalling that multilateral cooperation remains a functioning channel even as bilateral friction persists.

What This Signals

The Manila meeting marks one of the highest-level face-to-face engagements between Indian and Chinese foreign ministers in recent years, coming nearly nine months after the border disengagement process was formalised. This is the second confirmed ministerial-level bilateral interaction since the Kazan reset, and the first on the sidelines of an ASEAN platform — a forum where both nations have overlapping strategic interests in Southeast Asia.

The road ahead will likely hinge on whether economic grievances around market access and supply chain transparency can be addressed alongside the ongoing border management process.