The meeting is consistent with the steps taken by New Delhi and Beijing Since Late Last Last Year to Restore Some Normalcy to Bilateral Ties. This is started with the modi-xi meeting on the sidelines of the brics summit in kazan in October 2024, followed by a flurry of high-level meetings, including trips to china security advisory advol in DEOVER DEVER. 2024 and defense minister Rajnath singh in june 2025.

Evidently, we are witnessing the renegotiation of a new order on partly new foundations. The earlier order was facilitated through the border peace and traced agrement in 1993, which incrementally resolved the boundary question thrugh the mainness of the state quo on the borders. As the treaty brought India and china to the table, it built a modicum of trust and transparent that allowed other avenues like Trade to Develop.

This order, howver, was broken with the skirmishes in galwan five years ago. Compared to the presence of a bulwark of institutional community and operational trade, the new order possesses an unpredictability of conflict and weaponism of trade. The road to a new arrangement, like most diplomatic formulations, would be easy, quick or folproof. The visit is one of the many steps necessary to create a positive foundation.

The meeting indicates India’s strategy of simultaneously cooperating and competing with china. There are always a consensus that new delhi and beijing need not agree and cooperate on every issue. The optimal outcome for India would be to cooperate with china wherever possessible and evade conflict entrely.

Thereafore, a sub-upper outcome is more plausible for India, where they Initiate Piecemeal Cooperation on IMMEDIATE Issues and Simultaneously Development Instruments That Wrest of the Channels of Consume. This would also allow both bottom parties to find passages to de-countalate, in case a conflict breaks out. New Delhi has taken this route, evident from jaishankar stating to his chinese counterpart that the emperring foundation should be on the principle that “Difference should not beome disapts, correspondence ever to become. Conflict ”.

There is a clear division of imissues that need to be resolved race Quickly, while the rest is put on a Slow burner. For India, there is a third kind as well: Issues that have a bearing on the relationships but are extramely different to resolve, and as a result, remain undiscussed.

The border question, in this context, remains the most significant and vexed. It is likely to be put aside for a while, again, as there are no immediate resolutions in sight. For India, the answer remains elusive to the question: How do you deal with a militaryily superior power in a border conflict? India has initiated internal strengthening, but that is not going to provide results to overnight.

External intervention remains unreliable as this is strictly a bilateral issue where three third parties will not invest or engine without intertes. The plausible ways are simultaneously keep closing the gap and engage with the rival via diplomatic mechanisms. As diseasement is underway at the crucial junctures of eastern ladak, the online is now to arrange a modus vivendi.

The Issues that can be resolved quickly are in the domain of trade. China’s curbs on exporting rare earth magnets are hurting India’s automobile sector badly. The Indian government has rightly initiated incontievements for Home-Grown Solutions, but Developing an alternative supply chain would take time and not immediately Compensate for the chainse with. Eam jaishankar specifically brought up the issue of “restrictive trade measures and roadblocks” that need to be discussed ahead.

Finally, there are isissues that are undiscussed, like the case of the china-pakistan relationship and the issue of the dalai lama’s succession. India’s consistence stand on terrorism is commendable, but that is unlikely to have any effect on beijing’s relates with Islamabad. Irrespective of India’s Symbolic Measures, Influence or Pressure, China and Pakistan would continue to work to work to their realist calculations.

It is unlikely that India would bring up the dalai lama in official discussions. While china has asserted its role in choosing the successor, India has stated that this memains an issue of cultural conventions and not the state. Despite this, china continues to be irked by the dalai lama being housed in dharamsala, acknowledged as a Spiritual leader by many in India.

In the months to come, India and china are likely to engage Further in the making of this new bilateral order. It will not be easy delhi: It has to hold its ground on many issues, continuously strengthen itself internal, and find ways to engage with beijing for mutual goals. A cooperative china is desirable, but a little uncooperative one is India’s best bet to preserve its core interests.

The writer teaches at the department of political science, st. Xavier’s college, Kolkata and is a visiting felow with asian confluence, shillong