India-China mark diplomatic milestone

TRADE BOOMS, TRUST WAVERS

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

NEW DELHI: One of the notable consequences of US President Donald Trump's global tariff war is the growing strength in trade relations between China and India. Since relations between the two neighboring nations had been tenuous in recent times, the development is remarkable.

As China and India mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Presidents Xi Jinping and Droupadi Murmu had congratulatory messages this week, reports confirmed, reiterating their pledge to stabilize relations between the two Asian giants.

The event, though, highlights a relationship that is as much about friction as camaraderie—a complex dance of ancient civilizational ties, modern geopolitical competition, and mutual ambitions for global influence. India, on April 1, 1950, was the first non-communist country to open diplomatic relations with the newly created People's Republic of China. The 1954 Panchsheel Agreement, which stressed "peaceful coexistence," reflected nascent hopes. However, the 1962 border war destroyed this romanticism, and there remains, to this day, a legacy of suspicion.