China, India to resume border trade amid Trump's tariff war? Here's what we know

Amid the ongoing tariff war initiated by US President Donald Trump, India and China are in discussions to reopen the border trade of locally made goods after a gap of more than five years. As per reports, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India on August 18 and hold talks with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Reports also suggested that India and China are set to resume direct flights as soon as next month. Moreover, India's External Affairs Minister is scheduled to travel to Moscow for a trade and economic dialogue with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. India's realignment with China and Russia is seen against the backdrop of Trump's trade war and his anti-India stance on tariffs.

PM Modi to visit China on August 31, to attend SCO Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This will be PM Modi's first visit to China after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between the troops of the two nations in Eastern Ladakh. PM Modi last visited China in 2018. This will be his sixth visit as the Prime Minister of India. PM Modi will visit Japan on August 30, where he will hold bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart. Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited China, where he met with President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. They talked about outstanding issues like sharing water resources data, trade sanctions, and reducing tensions on the Line of Actual Control.

India-China relations

The Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to India also comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the nation for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. India and China's bilateral relations have remained tense since the deadly border clashes in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley, located in the Ladakh region. The violent confrontation, which involved hand-to-hand combat with makeshift weapons, resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. While China officially acknowledged casualties on its side much later, it never released a confirmed number, though independent estimates suggest there were significant losses among Chinese troops as well.

This incident marked the first deadly clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in over four decades and significantly worsened diplomatic and military ties. In the aftermath, both nations deployed tens of thousands of troops and heavy military equipment along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), leading to a prolonged standoff that continues in some friction points despite multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks.

The Galwan clash also triggered a wave of anti-China sentiment in India, resulting in economic retaliation, including bans on Chinese apps and stricter scrutiny of Chinese investments. While dialogue has continued at various levels, including meetings between military commanders and diplomats, full disengagement and de-escalation have yet to be achieved.