Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks in New Delhi on Saturday as the two Asian powers seek to build on a cautious thaw after years of strained relations.
The bilateral meeting will take place on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit and comes during Xi's first visit to India in seven years, Reuters reports.
Ahead of the meeting, Beijing said the two countries should approach their relationship from a "strategic height and long-term perspective" and be "partners helping each other succeed", according to The Indian Express.
The talks follow a gradual improvement in ties after a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020.
At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed in the fighting in the Galwan Valley, sending relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours into a deep freeze.
India subsequently tightened scrutiny of Chinese investment, widened vetting of business visas, banned popular Chinese mobile apps and severed direct passenger air links, Reuters reports.
The two countries reached a disengagement pact in October 2024, with the remaining troop pullbacks completed by the end of that year.
Relations have since begun to recover.
Direct flights have resumed and India has eased some restrictions imposed after the border crisis, although investment barriers, visa delays and difficulties obtaining Chinese equipment persist, according to Reuters.
China was India's largest source of imports in the 2025-26 financial year, with shipments worth $132 billion.
But significant sources of tension remain.
Both countries continue to maintain substantial military deployments along the disputed Himalayan frontier, which stretches roughly 3,800km, Reuters reports.
Territorial disagreements persist, while India remains wary of Chinese investment in sectors it considers sensitive to national security.
The Indian Express, citing sources, reports that the two sides have been working towards a strategic economic dialogue covering issues including India's trade deficit with China, market access, investment and visas.
Modi and Xi held talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024, shortly after the border disengagement agreement.
Saturday's meeting comes against a markedly different backdrop from the hostility that followed the 2020 clash, but analysts caution that the improvement in diplomatic ties has yet to remove deeper mistrust between the neighbours.
Harsh Pant of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation told Reuters ahead of Xi's visit that the "trust deficit" remained high.
The talks in Delhi will offer the latest indication of how far the two sides are prepared to take their cautious reset.
