The Ball Is Now In Beijing's Court

Olympics, and its resilience during the global financial crisis, subsequently made it adopt a more assertive tone with key neighbours, India particularly.

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For India, then US President Barack Obama's 2010 visit made clear that Washington's tilt towards New Delhi would outlast any change of administration. New Delhi's tone towards Beijing soon hardened, and the routine nods to a "one China" policy quietly vanished.

CHECKING THE SLIDE When Mr Modi came to power in 2014, China was at peak power. Its export-driven economy looked invincible. The world beat a path to its door.

At their first summit, hosted by Mr Modi in his home town, the Indian leader confronted Mr Xi about an incursion by about 1,000 Chinese troops in an area of the western Himalayas named Chumur, close to the Tibet border.

Mr Xi told a disbelieving Mr Modi that he was unaware of the development and it was unlikely that Beijing had authorised it. From that point on, while Mr Modi continued to attempt to build ties with China, a certain wariness would creep in.

Significant border incidents short of bloodshed were reported in 2013, 2014 and 2017. Then came the unexpected clash in Galwan in mid-2020 that cost lives on both sides, rupturing ties.

Chinese companies like Huawei and TikTok were shut out of the promising Indian market, direct flights were suspended, and thousands of troops were placed once again on the snowy slopes at enormous cost to both sides.

Latterly, New Delhi and Beijing have been looking for a way to check the slide, each for its own reasons.

For Beijing, a slowing economy and geopolitical headwinds make it imperative to look for opportunities in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

For India, the enormous costs of maintaining high troop levels on the icy borderlands and rising tensions with the US - first with the Biden administration, and now with Mr Trump - are prime motivations to stabilise ties.