Beijing (TDI): Chinese President Xi Jinping has described India and China as “good neighbours, friends and partners”, expressing hope for stronger cooperation as he extended Republic Day greetings to Indian President Droupadi Murmu.
Xi said relations between Beijing and New Delhi had continued to improve over the past year, stressing that stable ties between the two Asian powers were important for global peace and prosperity.
China, he said, has consistently believed that being “good neighbours, friends and partners” is the correct path for both countries.
Referring to the two nations as the “dragon and the elephant dancing together”, Xi said he hoped China and India would expand exchanges, deepen cooperation and address each other’s concerns in order to maintain healthy and stable relations.
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India and China, both nuclear-armed, share a roughly 3,800-kilometre border that has remained disputed since the 1950s and is largely undemarcated.
Relations were badly strained following a deadly clash in eastern Ladakh in 2020, when at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in hand-to-hand fighting. In the aftermath, both sides significantly reinforced their military presence along the Himalayan frontier.
Since last year, however, the two countries have taken steps to ease tensions, including a series of high-level diplomatic engagements aimed at stabilising ties.
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As part of the gradual reset, direct flights between India and China resumed in 2025, while trade and investment links have also picked up, partly driven by shifting global dynamics amid the more confrontational foreign policy approach adopted by US President Donald Trump.
