India-China Relations: A Thaw in People-to-People Ties Amidst Lingering Strategic Concerns
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: International Relations (India-China, Line of Actual Control - LAC, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - SCO), Geography (Brahmaputra River/Yarlung Sangpo).
Mains:
GS Paper 2: India and its neighborhood- relations; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Key Highlights from the News
India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals after a five-year hiatus.
This move is part of efforts to normalise ties between the two countries after the 2020 Galwan clash and military tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Despite this friendly gesture, China dismissed India's and Bangladesh's concerns about a new dam being built by China on the Yarlung Sangpo River (Brahmaputra in India) in Tibet.
Steps to improve relations accelerated after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Russia last October.
Discussions are underway regarding the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra and the initiation of direct flights between the two countries.
China claimed that the dam construction is within its sovereignty and that it shares water information with India and Bangladesh.
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