'From confrontation to conversation': Shashi Tharoor says Modi-Xi engagement marks timely pivot in India-China ties

PM Modi and Xi Jinping

The unmissable display of their deepest convergences was one of the main highlights during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China- his first in seven years,
in the shadow of the border stand-off and the deepening chill in the US.

In a column in The Indian Express, Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor, reflecting on the changing dynamics of global diplomacy, says although the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese premier Xi Jinping on the sidelines of SCO summit may not be spoken of for its deliverables, but it successfully underlined a 'pragmatic tilt' signifying a visible change in tack in ties between New Delhi and Beijing -- "a deliberate pivot from confrontation to conversation".

Tharoor observes that in the ever-shifting theatre of international diplomacy, moments of quiet recalibration often speak louder than grand pronouncements. The former diplomat, stating how the scope for engagement has been increasing since the Galwan skirmish, writes, " Five years ago, the tragic loss of 20 Indian lives in the Galwan Valley cast a long shadow over Sino-Indian relations. The border, unresolved and volatile, became a metaphor for the broader diplomatic freeze. Trade slowed, flights ceased, and the spirit of “Chindia” — that hopeful portmanteau coined in headier times to capture the promise of Asian synergy — was shelved in surrender to strategic suspicion. But today, the machinery of engagement is whirring once more."

"The symbolism is unmistakable. Indian pilgrims have returned to Hindu and Buddhist sites in Tibet. Direct flights are resuming. Visa restrictions are easing. Patrolling has resumed on our disputed frontier. Both nations are orchestrating a flurry of high-level exchanges to formalise the thaw. These gestures, though modest, are not without meaning. They signal a shared intent to move beyond the recriminations of the past and to reimagine a relationship that has too often been defined by its fault lines," adds Tharoor.

Welcoming the positives from the just-concluded dialogue between PM Modi and Xi, Tharoor says: "At the heart of the Modi–Xi dialogue was a reaffirmation of a principle that ideally ought to be self-evident but has long been elusive: That India and China can be development partners, not just rivals. The assertion that “differences should not turn into disputes” is more than diplomatic boilerplate — it represents a conscious effort to de-escalate the dominant rhetoric since 2020, when it was all “Hindi-Chini bye-bye”. In an era of global volatility, where trade wars flare and alliances shift with alarming speed, such clarity is welcome."

In the piece, Tharoor quips that Trump's aggressive tariff measure forced New Delhi to reconsider its strategic calculus. "India, once courted as a prized partner, now finds itself labelled a “laundromat for the Kremlin” by Washington’s trade hawks. The economic fallout is real: Exporters face closure, jobs have been lost and more hang in the balance, and the promise of preferential treatment lies in tatters," Tharoor puts it succinctly.

Beside the growing optimism emanating from the Xi-Modi meet, Tharoor is quick to add that New Delhi must temper optimism with realism. The border remains a tinderbox, with no progress on de-escalation to the status quo ante of April 2020, even while both sides promise progress toward a permanent border agreement. Our massive trade deficit with China persists and is compounded by huge non-tariff barriers imposed on Indian companies. The structural asymmetries in the relationship — military, economic, and political — cannot be wished away.