India, China move to reset ties: Agree to revive border trade, resume direct flights and resolve boundary delimitation issues

In this image released by @narendramodi via X on Aug. 19, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting, in New Delhi.

India and China on Tuesday took steps toward stabilising their relationship, agreeing to revive dialogue mechanisms, resume direct flights, and expand trade and investment ties. The moves mark an effort to reset relations that have been under strain since the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said both countries would work together to “maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas through friendly consultations” while also addressing each other’s concerns.

The talks coincided with the conclusion of the 24th round of Special Representatives’ dialogue on the boundary question in New Delhi, co-chaired by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The MEA, in its statement, said that the two countries also agreed to reopen border trade at three designated points and revive various dialogue mechanisms and exchanges to strengthen cooperation and address each other’s concerns.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the frontier with China and reiterated India's commitment to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable resolution to the boundary question as he met Wang Yi.

The prime minister said stable, predictable and constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and that he was looking forward to meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

During the meeting between Wang Yi and Ajit Doval, it was decided to set up the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs to ensure effective border management and maintain peace and tranquillity.

“The two special representatives agreed on setting up an Expert Group, under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC), to explore Early Harvest in boundary delimitation in the India-China border areas,” the statement issued by MEA said.

The MEA also stated that border management mechanisms at both diplomatic and military levels would be utilized to advance the process of border management and to discuss de-escalation, starting with the principles and modalities involved.

Wang, who landed in Delhi on Monday on a two-day visit, handed over a message and an invitation to the SCO summit from President Xi to Prime Minister Modi.

The signal of a renewed momentum in India-China relations came amid strain in ties between New Delhi and Washington over President Donald Trump's policy on tariffs.

In a social media post following his meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Modi said India-China relations have made steady progress, guided by respect for each other's interests and sensitivities, since his talks with President Xi around 10 months back.

Two days after India and China agreed to end the eastern Ladakh face-off, Modi and Xi met in the Russian city of Kazan in October last and agreed to revive several mechanisms to normalise bilateral relations and address the border dispute.

Wang's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.