After the handshake: Charting next chapter of India-China ties

India must not be naïve. The US and parts of Europe gave away the power of access too easily and paid the price in industrial hollowing and technological vulnerability. India must learn from that mistake.

- SHISHIR PRIYADARSHI & RAM CHARAN

The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin may have lasted just two days, but its aftershocks will shape Asian geopolitics for years. India and China, after a long winter of disengagement, signalled a thaw-one that blends pragmatism with caution.

Yet this thaw is merely the beginning of a beginning. The next conversation-between leaders, institutions, and businesses-will set the tone for what could evolve into a complex path of negotiation. The real task now is to define that path with clarity: What do we want, and what do we not want? What are the non-negotiables that must anchor India's approach?

India must draw its red lines now, and draw them with precision. We have the institutional and analytical depth to do this-through detailed inter-ministerial coordination, domain-specific mapping of vulnerabilities, and a clear articulation of priorities.

A CAUTIOUS RESET

For the first time in years, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping publicly described their nations as "partners, not rivals." This tonal shift, though modest, matters. It acknowledges that disengagement has imposed real economic costs while benefiting neither side strategically.

India reiterated that peace and tranquillity along the border remain the foundation of any normal relationship. China, for its part, appeared willing to discuss broader economic cooperation without forcing political preconditions. Both sides are exploring a new equation: coexistence without convergence, engagement without illusion.