Relations plummeted in 2020 after security forces clashed along the border. The violence, the worst in decades, left 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead, freezing high-level political engagements.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top aide said ties with Beijing are on an “upward trend,” another signal that New Delhi may be recalibrating its foreign policy amid mounting tariff pressure from US President Donald Trump.

India and China are aware of the “very high political, economic and military cost of frozen relations,” he says. “China felt it had pushed India too close to the U.S. while India realized that it was losing its vaunted strategic autonomy by getting too close to Washington and turning Beijing into an adversary.”