India and China edge closer after years of hostility, as Narendra Modi meets Xi in Tianjin amid Trump’s tariff shocks, reshaping Delhi’s foreign policy choices
India and China are coming closer by every passing day. After the 2020 border clashes, the two countries had taken strong positions against each other, and India had tilted towards the US as China frowned upon the growing Indian affinity towards the US. Now the tables have turned — India is moving closer to China as the US President frowns and his administration is out to discredit India’s new foreign policy choices. But the irony is that it is Trump who is responsible for pushing India towards China and Russia. When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, it was more than just a routine diplomatic engagement. His meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has come at a time when global economic turbulence — especially from the Trump administration’s tariff strikes — has redrawn the calculus of India’s foreign policy.
Earlier, the 2020 border clashes had cast a long shadow, and Beijing’s continued support to Pakistan’s military which raised doubts in Delhi about the viability of long-term cooperation.
But now the situation has changed drastically. For Modi, caving in to American demands would have meant abandoning a trusted ally in Moscow and undermining his strongman image at home. Instead, he has chosen to assert himself by diversifying his partnerships. And there is no bigger partner in sight than China — the world’s second-largest economy and India’s immediate neighbour. The Modi–Xi meeting in Tianjin reflected this pragmatism. There is a discernible change in the air: resumption of direct flights, simplification of visa processes, and some other goodwill gestures. These are modest but symbolic steps, signalling intent to mend ties. For Modi, the visit is an opportunity to reset relations that he once personally invested in with great zeal. Between 2014 and 2018, he visited China five times. That momentum was derailed by the bloody border clashes of 2020, which left both sides wary.
The SCO platform now offers a stage for cautious re-engagement. For Xi, too, there is incentive. China’s slowing economy, increasing strategic rivalry with the US, and a need for stable regional ties make improved relations with India desirable. However, challenges remain: Border disputes, mistrust over Pakistan, and competing ambitions in the Indo-Pacific are formidable roadblocks. Yet the current global environment, where old alliances appear shaky and protectionist impulses run high, has created a window for India and China to rediscover pragmatism.
By putting India under economic pressure, Washington has inadvertently accelerated Delhi’s search for alternatives — making Beijing a necessary, if uneasy, partner. The Tianjin meeting may not have produced dramatic breakthroughs, but it has restarted a stalled conversation.
For Modi and Xi, both seasoned leaders with strong domestic mandates, the coming months will test whether they can translate gestures into substance. And on their decisions rests the future of Asia.
