India-China relations are “better” today than they were a year or two ago, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, attributing the improvement to the easing of tensions along the border and the gradual restoration of normal bilateral engagement.
Speaking at an Asia Society event on Monday, Jaishankar said the relationship had been severely affected by the prolonged border standoff that began in 2020, but had started improving after the two sides resolved the immediate border issues.
“If you asked me, compared to where you were in 2025, is the relationship better today? I would say yes. Compared to 2024, even more so,” Jaishankar said.
He said the improvement was not necessarily the result of a “structural change”, but followed the stabilisation of a relationship that had deteriorated sharply after the 2020 border tensions.
“After what happened in 2020 and the long standoff that we had on the border, the relationship had really been impacted,” he said.
According to Jaishankar, normal contacts between the two countries had largely stopped during the standoff, although trade continued. Official exchanges, visa issuance and flights were also affected.
“So once the border standoff was resolved, it was natural that this would start to improve,” he said.
Jaishankar said India had consistently conveyed to Beijing that prolonged tensions between the two countries did not serve the interests of either side and could create opportunities for third parties.
“We also maintained consistently a very elementary principle of statecraft - don't get locked into a problem which benefits others,” he said.
He said India’s approach was based on the principle that the state of the border influences the broader relationship.
“We came down to a very fundamental principle, which is that the state of the border determines the state of the relationship. You can't have tension...on the border and say the relationship should be normal,” Jaishankar said.
“As the border comes back more towards normalcy, the relationship comes back more towards normalcy,” he added.
The comments come amid increased high-level engagement between India and China. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently visited India for the BRICS Leaders’ Summit hosted by New Delhi. Independent analysis has also noted that India and China have taken steps since 2024 to stabilise their relationship, while significant strategic differences remain.
Addressing the broader global situation, Jaishankar said the world was moving “quite visibly” towards greater multipolarity.
He pointed to what he described as an erosion of traditional alliances and a greater tendency by the United States to act independently, saying this was influencing how other countries assessed their own strategic choices.
Referring to the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Washington, Jaishankar said the two countries remained competitive despite areas of convergence.
He said other countries were consequently looking to “de-risk” and diversify their partnerships.
“Each one of us is looking for our optimal solutions. How do we de-risk? How do we diversify? Which are the new partners? Where do we get more value out of an existing partnership?” he said.
Countries would continue to adjust to the changing global environment by finding new partnerships and arrangements, Jaishankar said, adding that this evolving international order was also reflected in discussions during the recently concluded high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly.