Modi and Xi seek better ties, but Himalayan border remains the biggest test.
India Prime Minister Modi (R) Chinese President Xi Jinping. New Delhi (12.09.2026).
BRICS 2026: Modi-Xi Jinping Meeting: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Chinese President Xi Jinping that peace and tranquillity along the disputed India-China border must remain the foundation for improving relations between the two countries, signalling that New Delhi still sees the Himalayan frontier as the key test of any broader rapprochement with Beijing.
The message came during a meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on 12 September. The two leaders noted progress in bilateral ties since their previous meeting in Tianjin in August 2025 and agreed that relations should be approached from a strategic and long-term perspective.
But Modi also made clear that improved ties cannot be separated from the border.
He stressed the importance of what India describes as three “mutuals” — mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest — while calling on both sides to honour existing agreements and understandings relating to the border.
The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to finding a “fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable” settlement to the boundary question.
That formula points to the difficult reality at the heart of the relationship: India and China are major Asian powers with extensive economic ties, but they remain divided by an unresolved boundary dispute stretching across thousands of kilometres.
Why the border matters so much
India and China do not have a mutually agreed, physically demarcated boundary along the entire frontier. Instead, much of the disputed area is separated by the Line of Actual Control, or LAC.
The two countries have different perceptions of where the LAC lies in several areas. This creates the possibility of troops from both sides moving into territory claimed by the other, even when neither side necessarily sees its own movement as an intrusion.
The dispute has its roots in the unsettled frontier inherited after Indian independence and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
Tensions intensified after China consolidated control over Tibet and began building a strategic road through Aksai Chin linking Xinjiang with Tibet. India objected to Chinese control of the territory, while China rejected India’s interpretation of the boundary.
Those disagreements eventually contributed to the 1962 India-China war.
The conflict ended with China retaining control of Aksai Chin, a strategically important high-altitude region in the western sector. India maintains that Aksai Chin is part of Ladakh and rejects Chinese control over it.
China, meanwhile, claims a large area in the eastern sector, including Arunachal Pradesh, which India administers as a full state.
The two sides have never resolved these competing claims.
India Prime Minister Modi (L) held summit level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. New Delhi (12.09.2026).
From 1962 to Galwan
The border remained tense after the 1962 war, although India and China eventually established diplomatic and military mechanisms intended to prevent disputes from escalating into armed conflict.
There were periods of relative stability, but military confrontations continued.
Among the significant incidents were clashes at Nathu La and Cho La in 1967 and the confrontation at Sumdorong Chu in the 1980s. More recently, the 2017 Doklam stand-off demonstrated how quickly a localised border dispute could become a major diplomatic crisis.
The most serious recent confrontation came in 2020.
In eastern Ladakh, large numbers of Indian and Chinese troops were deployed along the LAC following a sharp deterioration in the situation. The confrontation culminated in the deadly Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. China later acknowledged four military deaths.
The Galwan fighting was particularly significant because troops from the two countries had not suffered fatalities in a border clash for decades.
The crisis transformed the political atmosphere surrounding the relationship.
India subsequently made clear that normal bilateral relations could not fully develop while peace and tranquillity along the border remained seriously disturbed. New Delhi has repeatedly stressed that existing agreements and understandings must be respected and that neither side should attempt to alter the status quo unilaterally.
That is why Modi’s latest message to Xi is important. The wording may sound diplomatic, but it reflects a central Indian position: economic and political engagement with China can expand, but stability on the border cannot be treated as a separate issue.
Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh remain core disputes
The geography of the dispute explains much of its persistence.
In the west, China controls Aksai Chin, which India regards as part of Ladakh. The region is strategically important to China because it provides a land connection between Xinjiang and Tibet.
In the east, China claims large parts of Arunachal Pradesh, which India administers as a full state. Beijing has at times referred to the region as “Zangnan”, or southern Tibet.
India rejects China’s claim and regards Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of the country.
The dispute therefore involves more than a line on a map. It concerns territory of strategic importance to both countries, military access across difficult terrain and the security of Tibet and China’s western regions.
India and China have also invested heavily in infrastructure and military facilities close to the frontier, reflecting the strategic importance both sides attach to the disputed areas.
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Why China-Pakistan ties complicate the picture
India’s concerns about China do not stop at the Himalayan border.
Beijing has developed a close strategic relationship with Pakistan, India’s long-standing rival. China has provided Pakistan with extensive economic, military and diplomatic support over decades, while the two countries have described their relationship as an enduring strategic partnership.
For New Delhi, the relationship becomes particularly sensitive because China and Pakistan share a geographical connection through territory that India claims.
In 1963, Pakistan signed a boundary agreement with China covering part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India does not recognise that agreement and says Pakistan had no legal right to transfer territory claimed by India to China.
China-Pakistan economic cooperation has added another layer to the strategic picture. Infrastructure projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have increased China’s economic and strategic presence in areas close to territory disputed by India.
This creates what Indian strategists see as a two-front challenge: China along India’s northern frontier and Pakistan to the west, with growing strategic cooperation between the two.
For Beijing, its relationship with Pakistan is part of a broader regional strategy. For New Delhi, however, Chinese support for Pakistan makes it harder to view India-China relations solely through the lens of trade and border management.
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India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) with Chinese President Xi Jinping. New Delhi (12.09.2026).
Can India and China move forward?
Despite their disputes, neither India nor China has an interest in allowing their relationship to slide permanently into confrontation.
The two countries are major Asian powers with extensive trade and shared interests in international organisations such as BRICS.
At their latest meeting, Modi and Xi also discussed trade, supply chains, market access, business links, cultural exchanges and greater movement of people between the two countries.
That indicates an attempt to expand cooperation while managing the unresolved boundary dispute.
But the latest meeting also reinforces the limits of that approach.
Modi’s central message was that the border remains the prerequisite for a healthier relationship.
The two countries can deepen trade, expand diplomatic engagement and cooperate on international issues, but a serious deterioration along the LAC can quickly undermine progress elsewhere.
That is the lesson India has drawn from the events of 2020.
The latest Modi-Xi meeting therefore represents neither a resolution of the border dispute nor a return to uncomplicated India-China relations. Instead, it points to a cautious formula: manage differences, prevent them from becoming disputes, and build cooperation where possible — while making clear that lasting stability in the wider relationship ultimately depends on peace along the disputed frontier.
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