'Dragon-Elephant Tango' charts course for China-India relations

As time-honored civilizations, large developing countries and important members of the Global South, China and India both stand at a crucial phase of their respective modernization endeavors.

How the two major Asian neighbors manage their ties shapes regional stability and the outlook for emerging‑market cooperation.

The vision of a "cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant" – symbolizing a harmonious partnership between the countries' emblematic animals – offers a guiding framework for bilateral relations, calling on the two countries to be good-neighborly friends and partners helping each other succeed.

At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi from September 12 to 13.

Speaking at a regular news briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China and India are arranging a bilateral meeting between Xi and Modi during the upcoming summit.

"This will mark the third consecutive year in which Xi and Modi meet, following their meetings in Kazan and Tianjin," Mao said.

Partners rather than rivals Over the past two years, Xi and Modi have held successful meetings in Kazan and Tianjin.

The leaders of the two countries agreed that China and India are partners rather than rivals, and each represents a development opportunity rather than a threat to the other, setting China-India relations on the track of improvement and development.

A "cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant" should be the right choice for the two countries, Xi stressed while meeting with Modi during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in north China's Tianjin in 2025.

As long as the two countries keep to this overarching direction, specific matters in the bilateral relations will fall into place and there will be steady and sustained progress in bilateral ties, Xi told Modi.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, in 2024, the two leaders reached important consensus on improving and developing China-India relations, agreeing to view and handle bilateral ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective and prevent specific disagreements from affecting the overall relationship.

Xi urged the two countries to strengthen communication and cooperation, enhance strategic mutual trust and facilitate each other's pursuit of development aspirations.

Since this year, under the strategic guidance of the two leaders, China-India relations have maintained a momentum of improvement and development, featuring strengthened dialogue at various levels and deepened exchanges and cooperation across various fields, achieving positive results.