This article covers India's diplomatic relations with China: the establishment of relations in 1950, the frameworks the two sides have agreed, visits and meetings of leaders, and relations since 2020. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of July 2026.
Establishment and early milestones
According to the MEA brief of July 2026, on 01 April 1950 India became the first non-socialist bloc country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The brief describes the border conflict of 1962 as a setback to bilateral ties, and states that Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's 1988 visit marked a beginning in the improvement of bilateral relations.
During Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit in 2003, India and China signed the Declaration on Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation. During the April 2005 visit of Premier Wen Jiabao, the two sides established a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity.
Leaders' visits and summits
The brief states that over the past decade, relations have expanded and diversified through several high-level visits. During President Xi Jinping's visit to India in September 2014, the two sides redefined their engagement as a Closer Developmental Partnership. In May 2015, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited China and held meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held their first Informal Summit in Wuhan on 27-28 April 2018 and their Second Informal Summit in Chennai on 11-12 October 2019.
Prime Minister Modi has also visited China for multilateral summits: the G20 Summit in Hangzhou (September 2016), the BRICS Summit in Xiamen (September 2017) and the SCO Summit in Qingdao (June 2018). President Xi visited India in October 2016 for the BRICS Summit in Goa, and Premier Li Qiang visited India for the G20 Summit in September 2023.
The leaders have also met on the sidelines of multilateral events, including the SCO Summit in Astana (09 June 2017) and Bishkek (13 June 2019), the G20 Summit in Osaka (30 June 2019), and the BRICS Summit in Brasilia (13 November 2019).
Relations since 2020
The brief states that bilateral relations had been adversely impacted by incidents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. In the following years, the two leaders had brief interactions on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali (November 2022) and the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg (August 2023).
After an agreement on patrolling arrangements along the LAC was concluded, the two leaders held their first full delegation-level talks in nearly five years on 23 October 2024, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. The Prime Minister then visited China, where he held a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on 31 August 2025 and took part in the Shanghai Cooperation Summit 2025 in Tianjin on 01 September 2025. The two leaders met again on 12 September 2026 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.