Hello Readers,
I have been caught up with some personal projects so today’s newsletter is short.
Yesterday, I posted a thread about a Chinese commentator writing under the pen name Hai Su (海叔) who published an article ahead of Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi. The piece was widely cited across state media. The name Hai Su is a pseudonym rather than an individual’s real identity—a practice often used in China for authoritative commentaries that reflect high-level views while avoiding attribution to any single person or institution.
Here is the link to the archived version of the article.
India–China Talks Signal Thaw Ahead of Modi’s China Visit
New Delhi played host to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday, where he met with Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar to discuss a broad agenda—border stability, trade, pilgrimages, river data, and cultural exchanges.
“We had productive conversations on our economic and trade issues, pilgrimages, people-to-people contacts, river data sharing, border trade, connectivity and bilateral exchanges,” Jaishankar said, emphasizing that the talks aimed to build a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking relationship” between the two Asian giants.
The visit comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to China for his first trip there in seven years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
Border security dominated the agenda, with Jaishankar stressing that peace along the disputed Himalayan frontier is the foundation for any forward momentum in ties. Both sides have maintained heavy troop deployments since the deadly 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which left 20 Indian and 4 Chinese soldiers dead. While relations soured in the years since, recent agreements—including an October 2024 pact reached after talks between Xi Jinping and Modi in Russia—have begun to ease tensions.
But differences remain in how each side framed the meeting. The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement claimed Jaishankar affirmed that “Taiwan is part of China”—a line underlined in the Chinese version of the readout. The Indian Foreign Ministry’s statement, however, made no mention of Taiwan, sticking to themes of border management and cooperation. New Delhi has largely avoided invoking the “One-China Policy” in recent years, with its last explicit reference dating back to August 2022. We don’t know if that’s China’s interpretation or that’s exactly what was said. Let’s see if Indian Foreign Ministry comments on it.
During his two-day trip, Wang Yi will also meet National Security Adviser Ajit Doval for the 24th round of border talks and hold discussions with Modi. Whether these steps lead to lasting progress will depend on how both sides balance competition with cooperation—something Asia, and the world, will be watching closely.
Here is the what China said in its statement after the talks between Wang Yi and Jaishankar:
“The two sides earnestly implemented the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, the exchanges and dialogues at all levels have been gradually restored, peace and tranquility have been maintained in the border areas, Indian pilgrims have restarted the pilgrimage to the sacred mountain lake in Tibet, and China-India relations have shown a positive trend of returning to the main channel of cooperation” said Wang Yi.
The statement didn’t say much besides that comment on Taiwan.
But S. Jaishankar insisted on continued dialogue on reducing the tensions by further de-escalation and de-induction of troops.
“You, Excellency, will of course be discussing border issues with our Special Representative, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, tomorrow. This is very important because the basis for any positive momentum in our ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas. It is also essential that the de-escalation process move forward.” S. Jaishankar said in this remarks.
I am sure we will be reading many op-eds on China-India thaw in relations in the coming days. But I will wait and watch what actions the two sides take and how broader geopolitics evolves before commenting.
I was recently interviewed by Straits Times for a story about Taiwan’s drone industry. Read here: Amid Chinese security threat, are drones ‘the next big thing’ for Taiwan after chips?
Thank you!