In a world torn apart by two wars and several minor conflicts, relations between India and China occupy a category of their own. Both countries continue to mass soldiers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that marks their disputed border. Yet, at a formal level, their relationship is marked by a détente that has now endured for nearly two years. Trade between them continues to grow, as does China’s share of India’s total merchandise imports.

While recent moves signal a pragmatic intent by India and China to stabilise ties, deep mistrust, and strategic competition remain. The relationship is a mix of cautious diplomacy, necessary economic engagement, and persistent rivalry.

Given the history of their border dispute, and the manner in which Beijing has used Pakistan to offset India, their current ties are hard to characterise with any single word. This is truer now that the US is visibly distancing itself from its erstwhile policy of using India to balance China in the Indo-Pacific. But it is worth attempting a measure of the situation anyway — not least because China’s President Xi Jinping arrives in New Delhi next month for his first visit since 2019, and the choreography that precedes it is already well underway.

Perhaps the most consequential fact about India-China ties today is the growing asymmetry between the two countries. Even as the direction of India’s own growth looks uncertain, China is making rapid strides in AI, biopharmaceuticals and........

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