The unresolved border dispute between India and China remains a central security concern and the single biggest obstacle in bilateral relations, which are still short of their pre-2020 status quo — notwithstanding Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to New Delhi last month for the BRICS Summit, according to an analysis published in The Diplomat. The report cautions that the high-level diplomatic engagement should not be mistaken for a fundamental realignment of interests.

Why the Relationship Has Not Reset

The report, authored by Sana Hashmi, a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, argues that while the resumption of high-level dialogue is a meaningful development, it does not signal a strategic shift. 'The resumption of high-level dialogue, leadership meetings, and direct connectivity are important developments... But this does not require India to reconsider its position on the underlying differences,' Hashmi wrote.

She noted that India never ceased communication with China after the 2020 Galwan clashes, and the recent leadership meetings are a continuation of that approach — not evidence of a transformed relationship. 'The latest meetings continue that policy; they do not demonstrate that the relationship or India's approach to it has fundamentally changed,' she added.

Galwan's Lasting Shadow

The Galwan Valley clashes of June 2020 fundamentally altered India's threat perception of China and raised serious doubts about the durability of existing arrangements to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). According to the report, preventing a recurrence of such violence remains a priority for both sides. However, the analysis warns that managing tensions through high-level meetings cannot substitute for tangible progress on the ground.

Notably, China's recent statement that it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh underlines the depth of the territorial disagreement, the report pointed out. 'There is little basis for expecting a reset while the two sides remain so far apart on territorial issues,' it stated.

Multiple Sources of Friction

Beyond the border, the report identifies China's relationship with Pakistan and a persistent trade imbalance as additional sources of friction between the two countries. It found little evidence of meaningful progress on any of these structural differences.

The report also flagged India's evolving position on the One China policy, suggesting that New Delhi is unlikely to return to its earlier stance without some reciprocal assurance from Beijing on a corresponding 'One India' position — an assurance that, according to Hashmi, appears unlikely in the foreseeable future.

The US Factor

The analysis acknowledged that India has been motivated to stabilise ties with China in part due to US President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile trade and foreign policies toward India and much of Asia. This geopolitical context has given fresh momentum to the engagement, though the report stresses that external pressure does not resolve the bilateral differences themselves.

What Modi and Xi Actually Said

During their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that India and China should be guided by 'three mutuals' — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity, and mutual interest. Both leaders emphasised that 'differences should not become disputes.'

A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the meeting noted that the two leaders 'welcomed the steady progress in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Tianjin in August 2025' and 'reaffirmed that both countries should take a strategic and long-term perspective of their ties.'

Hashmi's conclusion, however, is sobering: 'For now, both sides are trying to prevent another crisis while their core disagreements remain unresolved. Until those differences are addressed, dialogue may keep the relationship from deteriorating further, but it will not put China-India ties on the path to a reset.'