The normalisation of India-China ties is on an upward trajectory following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China, where he met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Leaders’ Summit. This moment was preceded by sustained high-level exchanges since the two leaders reached an understanding on troop disengagement at the border in October 2024. While Chinese media welcomed the dragon-elephant tango, the Indian strategic community remained skeptical.

Much of the mainstream commentariat in India leaned heavily on summitry, body language, and the optics of the Putin-Modi-Xi troika. Familiar phrases resurfaced: “cautious optimism", “China cannot be trusted," and warnings against a return to “Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai". Nonetheless, there was broad consensus in New Delhi that the recent thaw cannot resolve fundamental differences between the two. This was evident by recent reports of China hardening aircraft hangers at a strategic town close in the Line of Actual Control in the Arunachal Pradesh.

Both sides have resumed direct flights this month and eased visa regulations for tourists and business professionals. China also opened its market for Indian pharmaceutical exports and eased the restrictions on rare earth minerals. Speculations of an early harvest in border negotiations have also surfaced, potentially involving the delimitation and demarcation of the least disputed middle sector. Yet no short-term breakthrough can substitute for a strategic vision.

India’s China policy cannot remain tethered to the immediate state of bilateral ties or the whims of a third leader, be it Mr Trump or Mr Putin. Such an approach risks reducing New Delhi’s strategy to something reactive, ad hoc, and devoid of foresight. Until this challenge is addressed, India’s answer to the China question will remain elusive. This circles back to the million-dollar question: What is India’s China strategy? How should these positive developments be situated within a coherent strategic framework? What should be the modus operandi for engaging China? And what tangible benefits can India reasonably expect from cooperation?

What can India get out of China?

Most bargaining theories suggest that no relationship is purely conflictual or purely cooperative. Though India........

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