Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited China on July 14 and 15, his first dedicated visit since the 2020 military standoff in the western sector of the China-India border. During the visit, he participated in the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States in Tianjin. Both nations aim to leverage the forthcoming SCO Summit and its associated events this year as crucial diplomatic opportunities to restore bilateral normalcy.  

China and India should adhere to the direction of good-neighborliness and friendship, and find a way for mutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, common development and win-win cooperation, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday when holding talks with Jaishankar.

Jaishankar's visit holds significant importance for rebuilding mutual trust through cautious and pragmatic engagement. During their October 2024 meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Chinese and Indian leaders expressed mutual willingness to ease tensions and agreed to resume Special Representative-level talks on boundary issues. Shortly afterward, disengagement at Depsang and Demchok standoff points was announced, marking a critical de-escalation step since 2020. 

The resumption of high-ranking official interactions between the two countries came at a time when the US is waging tariff wars against most nations in the world, including its NATO allies and close partners such as India. In April, the US announced a 26 percent "reciprocal tariff" rate on India. The US-India trade talks progressed slowly, revealing deep structural differences, particularly over tariffs and India's initially cooperative posture has only emboldened the US to press for greater market access in sectors such as steel, auto parts and agriculture. India has limited capacity for such concessions - especially in agriculture, where changes would directly affect rural populations, a key electoral constituency.

Amid the indiscriminate tariff bullying from the US administration, the world is now entering an era of trade talks shaped by the US approach of "negotiating from positions of strength," leveraging US economic dominance for bilateral deals favoring American interests. The surging practices of such bilateral moves indicate clear signs of unilateralism which necessitate unity among affected nations. As the two most populous countries in the Global South, China and India's economic collaboration would bolster global geoeconomic stability. However, for some time, New Delhi slowed the pace of diplomatic normalization with China and begun to highlight its economic and security concerns regarding China. Many Chinese analysts pointed to the US factor behind Indian hesitation, while Indian scholars emphasized that India not be defined solely by its relationship with the US. How New Delhi handle the US divide-and-rule tactics will significantly affect its efforts on how and when to reset ties with China. 

China has been resolute in standing up against the economic coercion by the US from the very beginning and is leading the international efforts by actively promoting genuine multilateralism, as demonstrated by recent initiatives such as the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit and G77+China under the UN framework. These mechanisms, alongside platforms such as BRICS and SCO where China and India are major members, can help unite Global South groups and harness their collective market strength to push back against US trade coercion. 

China and India must accelerate reconciliation. Furthermore, the high-level interactions between the two countries indicate a clear path for warmer ties. In June, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh attended the SCO defense ministers' meeting in China - his first visit since 2020. Despite Singh's refusal to sign the joint statement which underscored India's lingering security concerns with other member states, the increased interactions between China and India as well as among SCO members are encouraging signs for enhanced coordination amid geopolitical turmoil that affects the world as a whole.

The successive visits of its defense and external affairs ministers are largely seen as part of India's commitment to supporting China's SCO presidency. During the past few weeks, measures from both sides have been taken to repair bilateral ties, thus there is reasonable optimism that Jaishankar's visit holds significant importance for rebuilding mutual trust through cautious and pragmatic engagement. A friendlier atmosphere will help both sides to carry on the momentum of Xi-Modi meeting last October and speed up the normalization process.

The author is an associate professor at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn