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.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been moving to align India with the United States and freeze out China. Now, efforts to rebuild ties between the Asian giants are gaining momentum.

Oil refiners in China have stepped up purchases of Russia’s flagship crude, seizing an opportunity to take discounted cargoes relinquished by India as Washington ramps up trade tariffs against New Delhi.