{
  "id": 13288683,
  "title": "Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/modi-and-xi-cant-bridge-the-india-china-divide-by-themselves-13288683",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T01:30:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370033/modi-and-xi-cant-bridge-india-china-divide-themselves"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Xi Jinping's recent visit to India for the Brics summit proved fruitless in bridging the India-China divide, as recent headlines highlighted the persisting challenges between the two nations. Despite positive signals from their conversation on leveraging open-weight artificial intelligence, the \"asymmetric\" nature of their relationship remains evident, with China's manufacturing sector far surpassing India's. The renaming of 28 sites in Ladakh, a heavily contested region, further exacerbated tensions. Rooted in strategic differences, Indian leaders view border issues as paramount, while the Chinese view them as secondary. Mistrust pervades both nations, with a 2024 survey indicating that 89% of urban youth in India see border conflicts as India's greatest foreign policy challenge. In the past year, over 50% of Chinese respondents held an unfavorable view of India. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened the situation, suspending direct flights and restricting people-to-people exchanges. Ultra-nationalist propaganda further fueled mistrust. To overcome these challenges, the author proposes three suggestions. Firstly, enhancing people-to-people exchanges by lowering visa restrictions and travel barriers, with Delhi resuming tourist and conference e-visas for Hong Kong passport holders and Beijing easing restrictions on Indian journalists. Secondly, addressing the widening trade deficit by establishing working groups for bilateral dialogue and reviving joint industrial estates in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Lastly, fostering collaboration in the global south on shared concerns like pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and food. Through these steps, the author believes trust can be built and the India-China divide bridged.",
  "summary": "Last month, President Xi Jinping travelled to New Delhi to attend the Brics summit – his first visit in seven years. On the summit’s sidelines, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an in-depth conversation that explored topics of shared interest between them, such as leveraging open-weight artificial intelligence (AI) for mutual benefit. Even so, such sanguine signals were soon drowned…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Modi and Xi can’t bridge the India-China divide by themselves",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/modi-and-xi-cant-bridge-the-india-china-divide-by-themselves",
        "published": "2026-10-10T01:30:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}