Xi Jinping: China-India are friends and partners, dragons and elephants are asked to dance together

JAKARTA - Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulations on Republic Day to Indian President Droupadi Murmu.

In his message, Xi referred to China and India as "good neighbors, friends, and partners", amid the two countries' efforts to improve relations that had frozen due to border tensions and global trade dynamics.

Xi's remarks coincided with the anniversary of India's Republic Day on Monday. Chinese state media, Xinhua, quoted via Aljazeera, Tuesday, January 27 reported, Xi assessed that China-India relations over the past year continued to improve and develop.

According to Xi, the relationship between the two countries has a significant meaning not only for Beijing and New Delhi, but also for efforts to maintain and promote world peace and prosperity.

The warm-toned statement came after China and India began resetting bilateral relations that had been tense for nearly four years since a clash in the border region in 2020.

The incident killed at least 20 Indian soldiers, while a number of reports said four Chinese soldiers were also killed.

After the clash, India banned a number of Chinese apps, including TikTok, and imposed restrictions on Chinese investment. However, bilateral trade continued and even reached more than 130 billion US dollars per year.

Relations between the two countries have begun to show significant recovery since the meeting between Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

The meeting was the first formal dialogue between the two leaders in five years.

Previously, in August last year, Modi also attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin. On that occasion, he expressed a commitment to improving relations with Beijing, amid increasing global economic pressure due to the tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump.

The US tariff policy has a direct impact on India and China. Indian products to the US market are now subject to tariffs of up to 50 percent, while Chinese goods face tariffs of more than 30 percent.

In his message, Xi used the metaphor of "dragons and elephants dancing together" to describe the relationship between China and India.

He hopes that the two countries can expand exchanges and cooperation, as well as pay attention to each other's interests in order to encourage a healthy and stable relationship.

Although a number of border issues have not yet been fully resolved, the two countries have begun taking concrete steps to improve relations. In October, India and China agreed to reopen direct flights after a five-year hiatus.

India is also reportedly considering easing restrictions on Chinese investment, as political and economic relations between the two countries improve.