China’s Xi says India, China are ‘friends, partners’

HONG KONG: China’s President Xi Jinping said China and India were “good neighbours, friends and partners” as he wished President Droupadi Murmu congratulations on the South Asian nation’s Republic Day, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Xi said that over the past year, China-India relations have continued to improve and develop and are of “great significance for maintaining and promoting world peace and prosperity,” according to Xinhua.

Xi said China has always believed that being “good neighbours, friends and partners” is the right choice for both China and India. He referred to China and India as the “dragon and the elephant dancing together,” Xinhua said.

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Xi said he hoped that both sides would expand exchanges and cooperation and address each other’s concerns to promote healthy and stable relations.

The nuclear-armed Asian neighbours share a 3,800 km (2,400-mile) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s.

Ties between the countries were shaken by a 2020 clash in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in hand-to-hand combat.

After that, the Himalayan border was heavily militarised by both sides.

Both countries began improving ties last year after staging a series of high-level bilateral visits.

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Direct flights resumed in 2025 as both countries stepped up trade and investment flows against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s combative foreign policy.