Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet with China’s top diplomat on Tuesday in a sign of easing tensions after a yearslong standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

China lifts export restrictions on fertilizers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines, addressing India's concerns for improved bilateral relations.

Their relationship is defined by a bloody border dispute, a vast power imbalance and a fierce contest for influence across Asia. Yet, President Donald Trump’s latest trade war may be achieving the unthinkable: pushing India and China into a wary but tactical embrace.

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.”

India and China are working to repair their strained relationship five years after a deadly clash in Galwan. The recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to New Delhi is being seen as a key step in this direction.

China is India’s largest trading partner in goods, with the south Asian country exporting more than $14bn in the 2024-25 financial year and importing a record $113bn of goods.

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