India And China To Explore Border Demarcation Amid US Tensions

India and China have agreed to explore demarcating their disputed border, a key move toward resolving decades-old territorial disputes as the neighbors look to recalibrate ties against the backdrop of strained India-US relations.

The two sides will set up an expert group to examine an interim arrangement for marking out border areas, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. The decision came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up a two-day visit to India — his first in three years.

A statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the expert group will “explore advancing boundary delimitation negotiations in areas where conditions are ripe,” without specifying which ones.

The world’s two most-populous nations have clashed repeatedly over their disputed border in the past 70 years. Ties plunged sharply in 2020 after a deadly confrontation but have recently been on the mend, with efforts gaining urgency amid US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

Experts on both sides said the decision to explore an initial border arrangement marks a major step in recalibrating ties.

The idea offers a “way forward,” said Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of international relations at Shanghai’s East China Normal University. “It will lead to difficult questions about other border areas but help foster mechanisms and trust for resolving them.”

The decision comes as New Delhi pursues stronger engagement with China and fellow BRICS nations, against the backdrop of strained ties with Washington after Trump’s 50% tariff. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet President Xi Jinping when he visits China to attend a regional summit later this month, marking his first trip to the country in seven years.

Wang — who was in Delhi partly to lay the groundwork for Modi’s visit — also met with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday and the two officials expressed satisfaction with the progress on border talks.

At a briefing on Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the two sides reached “new common understandings” during Wang’s trip, adding that the “hard-won results should be cherished.”

Beyond border talks, the two sides have also moved forward in other areas. Beijing has also loosened curbs on urea exports, New Delhi has reinstated tourist visas for Chinese nationals, while a growing number of Indian businesses have been seeking partnerships with Chinese companies for deals including technology transfers, Bloomberg News has reported.