Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in New Delhi on a three-day tour for boundary talks. Despite a visible thaw in the frosty bilateral ties, experts say the India-China relationship remains far from normal as Beijing’s campaign against New Delhi has not shown any sign of slowing down.

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.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that India-China relations must be guided by "mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest." He called for progress on border de-escalation and cooperation ahead of PM Modi’s visit to China for the SCO Summit.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins a three-day visit to India on August 18, holding a crucial bilateral with EAM S Jaishankar, having boundary talks with NSA Ajit Doval, and meeting PM Narendra Modi.

Experts believe this may soften US tariffs on India and strengthen the Indian economy, highlighting India's strategic autonomy amidst increasing Russian oil imports despite Western sanctions.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India from August 18-19 and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

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.”

The Chinese foreign minister is visiting India primarily to hold the next round of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question.

Relations between India and the US were strained after US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% duty for purchasing Russian oil.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explained why America has spared China -- Russia's biggest oil buyer -- from any secondary sanctions, even as 50 per cent tariffs were imposed on India, including a 25 per cent duty for buying Russian oil.

Trump has issued an ultimatum for India to end its purchases of Russian oil — a key revenue source for Moscow's war in Ukraine — or Washington will double new import tariffs on India from 25% to 50%.

India and China are actively working to mend their strained bilateral relations, signalling a push towards normalising ties and fostering greater stability between the two Asian giants