Chinese President Xi Jinping said China and India are “good neighbors, friends and partners” as he congratulated President Droupadi Murma on the South Asian nation’s Republic Day, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
India celebrates its 77th Republic Day on Monday. The official celebrations began with President Droupadi Murmu unfurling the tricolor at the Kartavya trail, minutes before the Republic Day parade.
Relations between China and India continued to improve
Xi Jinping said that over the past year, China-India relations have continued to improve and develop and are of “great importance to maintaining and promoting world peace and prosperity”, according to Xinhua.
Xi said China has always believed that being “good neighbors, friends and partners” is the right choice for both China and India.
He referred to China and India as “a dragon and an elephant dancing together,” he told Xinhua.
Xi Jinping said he hoped the two sides would expand exchanges and cooperation and address mutual interests to promote healthy and stable relations.
The nuclear-armed Asian neighbors share a 3,800-km (2,400-mile) border that is poorly defined and disputed since the 1950s.
India-China ties
Ties between the countries were rocked by a clash in 2020 that killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in a hand-to-hand fight. After that, the Himalayan border was heavily militarized by both sides.
The two countries began improving relations last year after holding a series of high-level bilateral visits.
A dragon and an elephant dance together.
Direct flights resumed in 2025 as the two countries stepped up trade and investment flows amid US President Donald Trump’s belligerent foreign policy.
