4 April 2022

China signals desire to improve ties with India, but is that what New Delhi wants?

James Crabtree

A trip to India by Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, was an important signal of China’s desire to improve severely strained Sino-India ties, following deadly Himalayan border clashes during 2020. The 25 March visit carried fresh significance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and India’s subsequent decision not to join Western-led condemnations of President Vladimir Putin’s actions.

Beijing and Moscow hope that New Delhi might in time rediscover some of its historical antipathy to the West, reversing moves to draw India closer to the United States in particular. Some limited improvements in Sino-Indian relations are conceivable, but substantial barriers remain to broader normalisation, as India looks likely to continue to deepen security ties with the US and its partners.

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