Xi Jinping: China and India Are ‘Friends and Partners’

Chinese Secretary General Xi Jinping said Monday that China ‍and India are “good neighbors, friends and partners.” The remark, made to leaders of India on the nation’s 77th Republic Day, is the latest sign of dramatic reconciliation between the world’s two most populous countries.

Tensions: India and China have been rivals for decades, driven by territorial disputes along their poorly demarcated border and competing ambitions for influence across Asia.

• In June 2020, their border dispute erupted into violence, leaving 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers dead. From that point, the relationship entered a period of severe strain.

Reconciliation: In October 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated a thaw by meeting with Xi in Russia and agreeing to grant China de facto control over certain disputed border areas.

• That turning-point meeting was followed in July 2025 by a delegation of Indian officials traveling to Beijing, the first such visit in five years. China’s foreign minister visited India the next month to officially resume various long-dormant China-India dialogues.
• In the months since, the two have resumed direct flights and have increased trade and investment flows.

Ties between China and India are of “great significance for maintaining and promoting world peace and prosperity,” Xi said, calling their relations “the dragon and the elephant dancing together.”

Biblical prophecy indicates that an alliance between India and China will emerge in the modern age under the leadership of Russia. On this basis, we expect China-India relations to continue improving over the long term. To learn more, read Russia and China in Prophecy.