Top 10 China-India News Stories of 2024

As time-honored civilizations, large developing countries, and important members of the Global South, China and India share common goals in promoting world peace and stability, improving global governance, and building a more just and equitable international order.

2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-India diplomatic relations, with hopes for even more collaboration in areas like investment and culture.

To celebrate this momentum, CICG Center for Europe and Asia (China Pictorial Publications), in collaboration with the India China Economic and Cultural Council, the Institute of South Asia Studies under the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, the Forum for a New South Asia, and China-India Dialogue, compiled the Top 10 China-India News Stories of 2024 highlighting the major events that shaped their journey this year.

• A Historic Handshake after 5 Years
  
  On October 23, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia. This was the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since their meeting on the sidelines of the 2019 BRICS Summit in Brasilia.
  The meeting this year was constructive and significant, with both leaders emphasizing the importance of harmony and cooperation between the two nations—home to combined 2.8 billion people.
  President Xi stressed that China-India relations are essentially a question of how the two large developing countries and neighbors, each with a 1.4-billion-strong population, treat each other. Development is now the biggest shared goal of China and India. The two sides should continue to uphold their important understandings including that China and India are each other’s development opportunity rather than threat and cooperation partner rather than competitor. They should maintain a sound strategic perception of each other and work together to find the right and bright path for big, neighboring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side.
  Prime Minister Modi noted that maintaining steady growth of India-China relations is critical to the two countries and peoples. It not only concerns the well-being and future of 2.8 billion people, but also carries great significance for peace and stability of the region and even the world at large. India is ready to strengthen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with China.
• Collaborative Spirit: China and India Advance on Boundary Resolution

  China and India made tireless efforts to reach a solution to the border issues through intensive consultations in 2024. On December 18, the 23rd meeting of Special Representatives for China-India Boundary Question was held in Beijing, the first in five years. Based on common understandings of the Chinese and Indian leaders in Kazan, China’s Special Representative on the China-India boundary question, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and India’s Special Representative and National Security Adviser Shri Ajit Doval held substantive talks and reached a six-point consensus on the China-India boundary question with a positive and constructive attitude. 

• Modi’s Third Term: Calling for Stronger China-India Relations
  On June 9, 2024, Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s Prime Minister for a third term at the presidential residence in New Delhi. On June 11, Chinese Premier Li Qiang sent a congratulatory message to Modi on his new term.
  In an interview with U.S. magazine Newsweek, Modi stated that for India, the relationship with China is important and significant, and stable and peaceful relations between India and China are important not just for the two countries but the entire region and world. He said that India and China need to urgently address the prolonged situation on their borders and restore peace and tranquility through diplomatic and military engagement.
• Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong Arrives in India to Take Office

  On May 10, 2024, Xu Feihong, the newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to India, arrived in New Delhi to take office, ending an 18-month vacancy—the longest gap since the resumption of ambassadorial exchanges between the two countries in 1976. Officials from the Protocol Division of Ministry of External Affairs of India, Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Eritrea to India Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam, and officials from the Chinese Embassy greeted the ambassador and his wife Tan Yuxiu at the airport. Xu is the 17th Chinese Ambassador to India.

• Two FMs Discuss Resuming Direct Flights, Exchanging Journalists, and Facilitating Visas ahead of 75th China-India Diplomatic Anniversary

  

  On November 18, 2024, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Wang emphasized the two sides should send more positive signals and engage in actions that facilitate bilateral exchange, enhance mutual trust and reduce suspicion, and carry out more cooperation and reduce attrition. He said that the two sides should strive to make practical progress on issues such as resuming direct flights, exchanging journalists, and easing visa procedures as soon as possible. Jaishankar said that India is ready to seize the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties to improve India-China relations.

• Cultural Exchange Events Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Tagore’s Visit to China
  The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to China. Commemorative activities honoring the polymath’s significant contributions to China-India cultural exchange were organized by Chinese academic and cultural institutions to promote mutual understanding between the two nations.
  During his visit to China in 1924, Tagore delivered lectures on Indian culture and civilization, expressing hope for the continued development of bilateral friendship through mutual learning and cultural exchange.

• China Overtakes the U.S. as India’s Top Trading Partner

  

  According to India’s economic think tank, the Global Trade Research Initiative, China has become India’s largest trading partner, surpassing the U.S., with two-way commerce totaling US$118.4 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. Imports from China increased by 3.24 percent to US$101.7 billion, while exports to China surged by 8.7 percent to US$16.67 billion. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, in the first nine months of 2024, bilateral trade reached US$103.99 billion, up 2.4 percent year on year.

• Chinese Brands Dominate India’s Smartphone Market

  

  According to Counterpoint Research, the Indian smartphone market grew by 9 percent in Q3 2024, with total shipments reaching 47.1 million units. Four of the top five brands were from China. Vivo claimed the top spot for the first time, capturing a 19 percent market share with a 26 percent year-on-year increase in shipments. Xiaomi followed with 7.8 million units shipped, up by 3 percent. OPPO, ranking fourth, achieved the highest growth with a 43 percent increase, shipping 6.3 million units. Realme ranked fifth with an 11.3 percent market share. South Korea’s Samsung ranked third with 7.5 million units, a 4 percent decline.

• China and India Remain Main Engines for Global Growth

  

  On October 22, 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released their new World Economic Outlook. Growth was projected to hold steady at 3.2 percent in 2024, with emerging markets and developing economies remaining robust. IMF’s 2024 GDP forecast for China and India was 4.8 and 7 percent respectively. IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas had previously stated that Asia’s emerging markets, particularly India and China, remain the main engines for global growth.

• Youth, Culture, Unity: China and India Pave the Way for Mutual Understanding

  In 2024, cultural exchange between China and India gradually resumed, with both sides making active efforts to enhance mutual understanding, mutual trust, and cultural appreciation. In July, the China-India Dialogue on Civilizations was held in Beijing. In August, the “Chinese Bridge” summer camp for Indian students was hosted at Zhengzhou University in Zhengzhou, capital city of China’s central Henan Province. In November, a youth delegation from Mumbai visited Lanzhou, capital city of China’s northwestern Gansu Province to explore the city’s rich cultural heritage. Strengthening cultural dialogue and exchange will create a positive environment for government and people-to-people interactions, which is essential for deepening understanding and building consensus between the two countries.