India's Modi and China's Xi push business links, border peace as ties revive — SkimNews
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- Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi — Xi's first India visit in seven years — and pledged to expand business, transport, and cultural links between the two countries.
- Bilateral trade between India and China hit a record $155.6 billion in 2025, according to Chinese customs data, with China now India's largest source of imports at roughly $132 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year.
- India's trade deficit with China exceeds $100 billion, as exports to China remain far smaller than imports.
- Businesses in both countries continue to face red tape, visa delays, and restrictions on selling industrial equipment, despite eased military tensions.
- Both nations maintain substantial military deployments in the Himalayas and border talks are making slow progress, even as institutional exchanges gradually resume.
- Ties began recovering at the end of 2024 after Xi and Modi agreed to end their military stand-off in the western Himalayas.
Why it matters: India's trade deficit with China exceeds $100 billion — a structural imbalance leaders pledged to address but which businesses say is worsened by visa delays, red tape, and equipment-sale restrictions. Both countries still maintain substantial Himalayan military deployments despite the diplomatic thaw at BRICS.
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