Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected in India for the BRICS summit, a visit that would mark his first trip to the country in seven years. The visit comes after a gradual diplomatic thaw following years of strain linked to the border standoff, and it creates space for political signalling at the highest level.
That does not mean economic relations have returned to their pre-2020 trajectory. India continues to approach Chinese investment, technology exposure and visas through a national-security lens, while businesses on both sides face uncertainty around market access and supply-chain dependence.
The important distinction is between diplomatic stabilisation and strategic trust. Two countries can restore meetings, flights or commercial channels without removing the structural competition created by the unresolved boundary, technology dependence and wider Indo-Pacific rivalry.