India and China: Border Calm, Cautious Thaw
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Summary
At the 35th WMCC meeting, India and China expressed satisfaction with maintained peace along the LAC. Tactical steps like resuming dialogues and flights show pragmatic stabilisation, deep-seated mistrust and border dispute prevent a full relationship reset.
In a cautious but steady move toward the normalisation of bilateral relations, China and India have reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and expressed satisfaction over the ongoing maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. The 35th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held in Beijing on May 27, 2026 where China and India had positive, forward-thinking talks about boundary management and border delineation. Since conflicts broke out along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in 2020, the mechanism has been essential in controlling tensions. The Chinese delegation was led by Hou Yanqi, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese MFA. The Indian delegation was headed by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia).
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides “reviewed the situation in the border areas” and “expressed satisfaction with the progress made in maintaining peace and tranquillity”, which had enabled “gradual normalisation of bilateral relations”. The Chinese foreign ministry similarly said the border areas had maintained “lasting peace and tranquillity”, adding that discussions were held in a “practical and friendly atmosphere. Both nations discussed issues pertaining to border management, delimitation, mechanism development, and cross-border cooperation during the negotiations. Additionally, the Indian side emphasised the necessity of an early Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-Border Rivers meeting.
The 2020 Ladakh crisis sent relations to their lowest point since the 1962 war, and New Delhi and Beijing are still working to rebuild their relationship as the WMCC meeting takes place. Both nations have resumed high-level diplomatic contacts and stepped up talks to restore broader bilateral engagement after reaching an agreement in October 2024 to disengage from remaining points of contention. India and China agreed to continue regular diplomatic and military-level exchanges through existing mechanisms, including those agreed upon during the 24th Special Representatives (SR) Talks. Both sides also agreed to work together for substantive preparations for the next SR meeting, scheduled to be held in China. The SRs mechanism was an agreement of 2003, which mandated that strategies for settling the boundary dispute should be investigated from a political perspective.
Since October 2024, China-India relations have improved owing to the resumption of leadership exchanges, the restoration of connectivity, and gradual improvements in trade and border management. However instead of a strategic reset, these developments show pragmatic stabilisation for shorter period. Although external pressures, like changing US policy and regional realignments, reinforce incentives for limited engagement rather than long-term reconciliation, major sources of tension like border disputes, trade imbalances and broader strategic mistrust remain unresolved.
Year 2020 saw the worst hostilities in over 40 years. However, both sides have taken numerous steps to normalise people-to-people interactions, including resuming direct flights, relaxing visa requirements, and resuming a Hindu pilgrimage to Tibet. Nonetheless, rather than a significant reset of the bilateral relationship these developments provides only pragmatic stabilisation for shorter period.
So far various approaches have been used to address the bilateral relationship. In December 2024 both the countries reopened the Special Representatives framework on the border dispute after a five-year break. In this regard, significant progress was made as evidenced by the readout from the August 2025 meeting mentioning the formation of an Expert Group to look into a “early harvest” solution, which suggest a phased approach to boundary delimitation.
New Delhi’s realisation that maintaining friendly relations with Beijing was essential to India’s aspirations to become a global manufacturing hub served as a major impetus for the normalisation of bilateral relations. China is still India’s main trading partner and a vital component of its supply chains. China-India relations have important implications for the future of the Indo-Pacific and the global order, as they are the most populous countries in the world and the second and soon-to-be third largest economies. This fact is frequently ignored due to excessive focus on conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.
As they negotiate increasingly volatile geopolitical waters, Beijing and New Delhi have decided to put their differences on hold for the time being. However, this is still more of a tactical compromise than a strategic restart of the bilateral relationship if their core complaints are not addressed. Reconciliation has not yet resulted from limited re-engagement. A major lesson from past border standoffs is that verbal assurances or generalised “maintain peace” agreements are insufficient. Both sides now enforce specific parameters – such as agreed timelines, mutual verification, and strictly monitored buffer zones – ensuring terms are implemented on the ground.
Current diplomatic engagements focus on substantive preparations for higher-level Special Representative (SR) meetings. The lesson has been that structured, high-level diplomatic frameworks are required to define the overall boundary issue because on the ground military commanders are unable to resolve political mapping disputes anymore.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Statecraft Institute.