Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Kashmir and border dispute will likely top the agenda as India and China leaders meet

Kashmir and border dispute will likely top the agenda as India and China leaders meet

The leaders of India and China are expected to talk about their unsettled border dispute when they meet, and may also address their differences over Kashmir.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting in the coastal town of Mamallapuram in southern India starting Friday.


“India and China have a fraught relationship, yet they are also far from being each other’s top foreign policy issue,” says Simon Baptist, global chief economist and managing director at the Economist Intelligence Unit.


Another point of contention between the two countries is China’s the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - an ambitious infrastructure project that seeks to connect dozens of countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.


India has consistently snubbed China’s invitations to join the BRI.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting in the coastal town of Mamallapuram in southern India starting Friday.

During their two-day summit, the leaders are expected to talk about their unsettled border dispute, and may also address their differences over Kashmir - a territory claimed by both India and its arch-rival Pakistan. China is one of Pakistan’s top allies.

“India and China have a fraught relationship, yet they are also far from being each other’s top foreign policy issue,” said Simon Baptist, global chief economist and managing director at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

In August, India revoked the special status granted to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir - a move that angered Pakistan which has fought three wars with India since 1947 over the disputed territory.

Ahead of their meeting, Xi said on Wednesday he was watching the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and will support Pakistan in issues related to its core interests, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.

But Modi will most likely want to reiterate to Xi that the Kashmir issue is an internal matter for India, said Rudra Chaudhuri, director of think tank Carnegie India in a note on Thursday.


Border dispute


India and China share a 3,500 kilometer border which has been largely peaceful, even though there have been occasional stand-offs between soldiers over the last two decades.

The two sides have a long-standing dispute over the location when territories of India, China and Bhutan intersect.

“They’ve got territorial disputes on both sides of the Himalayas. India gets annoyed with China for helping Pakistan, and putting investment into Pakistan, which causes India’s great foreign policy obsession,” Baptist said.

“The territorial disagreements are non-negotiable for both sides, so any real rapprochement is exceedingly unlikely,” he added.

Amid all the geopolitical uncertainty globally, it is now “left to Modi to assess the extent to which Xi’s China is prepared to accommodate, if not accept, Indian interests and concerns,” Carnegie’s Chaudhuri said.


India-China economic ties


Another point of contention between the two countries is China’s the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - an ambitious infrastructure project that seeks to connect dozens of countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.

India has consistently snubbed China’s invitations to join the BRI. Meanwhile, Beijing has backed many infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, countries that India considers as part of its sphere of influence.

Chaudhuri said New Delhi has not been keen to join the BRI because a lot of those projects are built on the contested territory of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and because a lack of transparency and respect for the rule of law.

Their meeting will most likely not result in a trade deal of any sort as there is very “little interest in a trade deal,” Baptist said. “India aspires to compete with China in manufacturing (although it is a Long way behind) and China does not want to open to India’s strong services sector, even if language wasn’t already a big barrier.”

At the end of the day, said Baptist, the two Asian powerhouses have their hands tied with other more important diplomatic matters right now, and will have little time to try to court each other.

“So for both sides, this relationship is not a super critical one the two countries are not going to become close allies or resolve their tensions any time soon. On the other hand, I don’t think they will escalate either,” said Baptist.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×