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

HONG KONG, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and India are “good neighbours, friends and partners” and congratulated President Droupadi Murmu on the South Asian country’s Republic Day, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Over the past year, Xi said China-India relations continue to improve and develop and are “of great importance 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.

Xinhua said he referred to China and India as “the dragon and the elephant dancing together.”

Xi said he hopes both sides will expand exchanges and cooperation, and address each other’s concerns to develop healthy and stable relations.

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

Ties between the countries were rocked by the conflict in 2020, in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in hand-to-hand combat. Thereafter the Himalayan border was heavily militarized by both sides.

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

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

(Reporting by Beijing new chamber; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Thomas Derpinghaus)