Republic Day 2026: Xi Jinping Praises Improving India China Relations After Years Of Border Tensions

India

oi-Ashish Rana

India’s
77th
Republic
Day
received
a
diplomatic
note
of
goodwill
from
Beijing,
with
Chinese
President
Xi
Jinping
sending
a
message
that
emphasised
cooperation
and
neighbourly
ties
between
the
two
Asian
powers.

The
message
comes
as
New
Delhi
and
Beijing
cautiously
move
forward
after
years
of
strained
relations
following
the
2020
border
standoff.

In
his
greeting
to
President
Droupadi
Murmu,
Xi
Jinping
highlighted
the
shared
responsibility
of
both
countries
to
maintain
stability
and
deepen
engagement,
according
to
reports
by
Chinese
state
media
and
international
news
agencies.

Xi
calls
India
and
China
“good
neighbours,
friends
and
partners”

According
to
China’s
official
Xinhua
news
agency,
Xi
described
India
and
China
as
“good
neighbours,
friends
and
partners” in
his
Republic
Day
message.
He
also
repeated
a
phrase
frequently
used
by
him
to
describe
bilateral
ties,
referring
to
the
two
countries
as
the
“dragon
and
the
elephant
dancing
together”.

Reuters
reported
that
Xi
expressed
hope
that
India
and
China
would
expand
exchanges
and
cooperation
while
addressing
each
other’s
concerns,
stating
that
such
efforts
would
help
promote
long-term
stability
in
diplomatic
relations.

Four
years
of
tension
after
Galwan
clash

Xi’s
remarks
come
after
a
prolonged
phase
of
strained
relations
that
followed
the
deadly
Galwan
Valley
clash
in
2020.
The
incident
led
to
heightened
military
deployment
and
limited
diplomatic
engagement
between
the
two
sides,
keeping
relations
under
pressure
for
nearly
four
years.

A
breakthrough
began
to
take
shape
in
October
2024,
when
Xi
Jinping
and
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
met
in
Kazan,
Russia,
during
the
BRICS
Summit.
During
that
meeting,
both
sides
agreed
to
end
the
border
face-off,
marking
a
key
step
towards
restoring
normal
diplomatic
engagement.

Diplomatic
outreach
and
easing
of
restrictions

Following
the
Kazan
meeting,
bilateral
engagement
gathered
momentum.
External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
visited
China
in
July,
where
he
said
India
and
China
should
build
on
the
“good
progress”
achieved
in
normalising
ties
and
work
towards
addressing
border-related
issues,
including
de-escalation.

Several
confidence-building
measures
followed.
Indian
pilgrims
were
allowed
to
resume
visits
to
Kailash
and
Mansarovar
in
Tibet,
visa
procedures
were
eased
by
both
countries,
and
direct
flights
between
India
and
China
were
restored,
signalling
a
gradual
return
to
people-to-people
exchanges.

Republic
Day
celebrations
underway
in
New
Delhi

India
is
marking
its
77th
Republic
Day
with
a
ceremonial
parade
at
Kartavya
Path
in
New
Delhi.
The
parade,
commemorating
the
adoption
of
the
Constitution
on
January
26,
1950,
is
scheduled
to
begin
at
10:30
am
and
will
run
for
approximately
90
minutes.

This
year’s
Republic
Day
theme
is
“150
Years
of
Vande
Mataram”.
The
celebrations
are
being
attended
by
Antonio
Costa,
President
of
the
European
Council,
and
Ursula
von
der
Leyen,
President
of
the
European
Commission,
as
chief
guests,
highlighting
the
global
dimension
of
the
event.