India-China relations

Introduction & Top Questions
History
- Early contacts
- Colonization and early modern history
- 1947–59: Early diplomatic ties
- 1959–62: Breakdown of ties and war
- 1962–76: Freeze in relations
- 1976–88: Normalization
- 1988–98: Confidence building
- 1998–2017: Competitive engagement
- Relations after 2017: Strategic competition and border skirmishes
  - China’s relations with India’s neighbors
  - Competition in the Indian Ocean region
  - Mutual global challenges

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Modi and Xi meet

Map showing the Silk Road network at its peak between 700 and 900 CE, spanning Eurasia and North Africa. It highlights primary overland trade routes in pink, secondary routes in orange, and sea routes in blue, connecting cities such as Chang'an (Xi'an), Samarkand, Baghdad, Constantinople, Venice, and extending to ports along the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and East Asia. Modern international boundaries are also outlined.

Zhou Enlai wearing a dark jacket and cap, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1930s

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands at a podium with BJP party symbols and images of other leaders, addressing supporters at an indoor political event in Davangere, India.

President of China Xi Jinping in a dark suit and red tie speaking at a podium with two microphones.

Black and white photograph of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai left with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during Zhou Enlai visit to India on April 21, 1960.

India-China relations: Media

international relations

Images

Modi and Xi meet

Modi and Xi meet

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) shaking hands with Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping,...

© Xie Huanchi—Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

Map showing the Silk Road network at its peak between 700 and 900 CE, spanning Eurasia and North Africa. It highlights primary overland trade routes in pink, secondary routes in orange, and sea routes in blue, connecting cities such as Chang'an (Xi'an), Samarkand, Baghdad, Constantinople, Venice, and extending to ports along the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and East Asia. Modern international boundaries are also outlined.

The Silk Road network at its peak (700–900 ce)

Map depicting the Silk Road network during the era of the Tang dynasty and the Abbasid...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Refugio Mariscal

Zhou Enlai wearing a dark jacket and cap, looking slightly to the side with a neutral expression.

Zhou Enlai

A leading architect of China's foreign policy.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1930s

Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1930s

As India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru was in office for more than 16...

© Keystone-France—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, 1978.

AP Images

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 2003.

Ricardo Stuckert/Agência Brasil

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands at a podium with BJP party symbols and images of other leaders, addressing supporters at an indoor political event in Davangere, India.

Narendra Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a group of supporters in 2023.

© Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

President of China Xi Jinping in a dark suit and red tie speaking at a podium with two microphones.

Xi Jinping

Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping, 2017.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Handshake

Handshake

Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shaking hands,...

© Arvind Yadav—Hindustan Times/Getty Images

Black and white photograph of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai left with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during Zhou Enlai visit to India on April 21, 1960.

Building ties

Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai (left) with Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, April...

© Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shakes hands with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping as members of both delegations look on during a meeting in India on December 24.

Rajiv Gandhi and Deng Xiaoping

Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (left) shaking hands with China's paramount leader...

© Prashant Panjiar—The India Today Group/Getty Images

Chinese Premier Li Peng reviews a guard of honour during a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi, India, on December 11, 1991, at the start of his official visit to the country.

Guard of honor

Chinese Premier Li Peng reviewing the guard of honor, December 1991, India.

© Douglas Curran—AFP/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda tilts his head toward Chinese President Jiang Zemin while speaking with him during a meeting in New Delhi, India, on November 28, 1996.

Budding relations

Chinese Pres. Jiang Zemin (left) with Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, November...

© Sondeep Shankar—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Visiting Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the left raises a glass in a toast with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the right following a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on June 23, 2003.

Vajpayee's landmark visit to China

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (left) raising a glass in a toast with...

© Frederic J. Brown— AFP/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee smiles as he shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao while posing for photographs at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on June 24, 2003.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Hu Jintao

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (left) and Chinese Pres. Hu Jintao, June...

© Frederic J. Brown— AFP/Getty Images

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, wearing a black suit, shakes hands with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, who is wearing a light blue turban, a long-sleeved white shirt, and a waistcoat, during the signing of a joint declaration following the signing of 11 agreements in New Delhi, India, on April 11, 2005.

Wen Jiabao and Manmohan Singh

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (left) and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, April...

© Prakash Singh—AFP/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh smiles as he shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao in the forecourt of the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, on November 21, 2006.

Manmohan Singh and Hu Jintao

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (left) and Chinese Pres. Hu Jintao, November...

© Sondeep Shankar— Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, pose for photographs with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, on September 18, 2014.

Xi Jinping visits India

(From right) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping, Indian...

© Raveendran—AFP/Getty Images

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee meets with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on May 26, 2016. The two leaders face each other during the meeting.

Pranab Mukherjee and Li Keqiang

Indian Pres. Pranab Mukherjee (left) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 2016, Beijing.

© Kim Kyung-Hoon-Pool/Getty Images

Indian school students hold the national flags of India and China beside a large portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Chennai, India, on October 10, 2019, ahead of a summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Welcoming Xi Jinping

Indian school students holding the national flags of India and China next to a large...

© Arun Sankar—AFP/Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dressed in traditional southern Indian attire, gives Chinese President Xi Jinping a guided tour of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, India, on October 11, 2019. The two leaders walk together while viewing the historic site.

Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi

Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping (second from left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,...

© Wang Ye—Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

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