China-India relations

China and India have reached their first agreement to ease tensions along their disputed borders since a stand-off turned deadly in June and raised fear of a broader confrontation. Their top diplomats met on Thursday for the first time after the June fighting, which left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unknown number of casualties on the Chinese side. In a joint statement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the stand-off was “not in the interest of either side.” The worst border dispute between the two countries in four decades has escalated in recent months.  Earlier this week, both sides have accused each other of firing shots in the di

As Tenzin Thardoe went about his routine earlier this week, news started trickling in that there had been yet another clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, this time near the Pangong Tso lake. Thardoe was over 1,000 miles away, in the Norgyeling Tibetan refugee settlement in India’s central Maharashtra state. But when the encounter was confirmed, the news stirred many memories of the 33-year-old’s time with the Special Frontier Force, known as SFF. While the Indian establishment has not officially confirmed it, the SFF – a little-known paramilitary unit consisting mainly of Tibetan refugees – is believed to have played a big role in what the Indian Army

China and Russia have often described their relationship as “special” and “unprecedented” and have recently promised to maintain what they call a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” In fighting the coronavirus, the “specialness” of this relationship has been clear for all to see. In February, Moscow sent medical supplies to Wuhan, then the epicenter of the outbreak. And when the virus peaked in Russia, China repaid the favor by delivering to its neighbor millions of masks and other protective equipment. What’s more, the leaders of the two countries seem close, having met more than 30 times since 2013. Last month, in what appeared to be a veiled dig at the United States, Chinese President

As the border stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Himalayas entered its 15th week, criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration was brewing in New Delhi, the capital. Talks have continued with little sign of a breakthrough since Indian and Chinese troops clashed with bare hands, spiked clubs and rods on June 15, leading to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number on the Chinese side. Unhappy at what they saw as India’s overly cautious approach, a group of military veterans and analysts were calling for the government to get tough on Beijing. A prolonged stand-off could end up narrowing India’s military options to prevent India losing cont

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Index features one important number about China to give you insight into the rising power. 14%: How much China accounted for India’s overall imports in 2019. Last year, commerce between India and China was worth about US$85 billion, making it Delhi’s second-most fruitful trading relationship, behind only the US.  Nearly one-third of India’s imports from China are electronics, such as smartphones and telecommunications equipment. India also heavily imports materials for nuclear reactors and organic chemicals.  But the close economic ties are under threat after a deadly border conflict in June, igniting wide anti-Chinese sentiment in India. The Indian gover

Every Tuesday and Thursday, China Trends takes the pulse of the Chinese social media to keep you in the loop of what the world’s biggest internet population is talking about. WeChat complies to India’s ban WeChat, China’s messaging super-app owned by Tencent, officially restricted users in India from using the app on Saturday, as a result of India’s ban on WeChat and 58 other Chinese apps in June.  The Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in late June, including TikTok, WeChat and Baidu maps, saying they threatened India’s “sovereignty and integrity” two weeks after a fatal clash between Chinese and Indian troops at a Himalayan border.  The news prompted concerns on Chinese social media

While China’s attention was fixed on a new Cold War with the United States, tensions on its troubled Himalayan border with India erupted last month in the deadliest clash in over 50 years. The fatal skirmish rubbed salt into an old wound that has refused to heal since the 1962 border war, and raised questions about China’s strategic calculations about the rise of India. It also prompted fears about armed conflicts, and worries that the nuclear powers may find themselves in a deadly manifestation of the Thucydides Trap. The much-debated concept, which was coined by Harvard professor Graham Allison in reference to the possibility of military confrontations when a rising power threatens a domin

The Indian government has banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps as its border row with China spilled over into arenas including tech, privacy and national security. The unprecedented ban, which came weeks after 20 soldiers died in a border clash in the Himalayas, is likely to affect one in three mobile users in India. India is the biggest market for TikTok, the wildly popular video-sharing app that has been downloaded more than 660 million times since its launch, according to an estimate by app intelligence agency Sensor Tower. TikTok has between 120 and 200 million active users in the country. The move marked another attempt by India to reduce dependence on its neighbor’s products and put

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. 14,000 feet above sea level, a Himalayan border clash between the Chinese and Indian militaries using only sticks and rocks left 20 Indian soldiers dead and 76 injured in June 2020, Indian officials said. Beijing has not detailed the casualties suffered by the Chinese side. It was the most violent clash between the two countries in decades, fueling nationalist anger in both India and China. Both governments have said they want to cool tensions.  The conflict has its roots in a century-old border dispute between the two nuclear powers, which turned bloody 

A bloody skirmish between Indian and Chinese soldiers along a disputed border last week left 20 Indian soldiers dead and 76 injured, but we do not know the casualty numbers from the Chinese side.  This is by design, as Beijing has been reluctant to comment publicly on any casualties from the Galwan Valley incident. On Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian dismissed Indian media reports claiming 40 Chinese soldiers had been killed, calling it “fake news.”   Three separate sources told the South China Morning Post that China’s casualty count was much lower than India’s and Beijing remained silent to avoid escalating tensions.  Spokesman Zhao said the two sides “agreed to take nece