Opinion | China and India may be on same page but can they start a new chapter?

From strengthening trade to forging a multipolar global order, Beijing and New Delhi must capitalise on shared interests to overcome obstacles to detente

Reading Time:3 minutes

Published: 8:30pm, 14 Aug 2025

“I shall consider myself fortunate if, through this visit, China comes nearer to India and India to China – for no political or commercial purpose, but for disinterested human love and for nothing else.”

These words were uttered by Rabindranath Tagore, one of India’s most legendary poets, on his 1924 visit to China.

A century later, the Sino-Indian relationship stands at an inflection point.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit China for the first time in seven years, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on August 31 and September 1. This comes on the heels of the recent visit by the veteran Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Earlier this year, the two countries agreed to resume direct flights, which had been paused for over five years since the ignominious Galwan Valley clash in 2020.

On the other hand, last week, US President Donald Trump imposed an extra 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, which will raise the overall tariff rate to 50 per cent from August 27, citing India’s imports of Russian oil as the justification.

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