NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Dec 24: China is leveraging reduced tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilize relations with India while simultaneously aiming to prevent closer US-India strategic ties, according to the US Department of War’s annual assessment released Tuesday.
In October 2024, India and China reached an agreement to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the LAC, announced just two days before President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met at the BRICS Summit. This marked the beginning of monthly high-level bilateral engagements addressing border management, direct flights, visa facilitation, and exchange programs for academics and journalists.
The Department of War’s report on ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2025’ assesses that Beijing probably aims to capitalize on eased LAC tensions to stabilize ties and counter deepening US-India relations, though India remains skeptical of Chinese actions and motives. “Continued mutual distrust and other irritants almost certainly limit the bilateral relationship,” the report stated.
China’s national strategy targets “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049, requiring a “world-class” military that can “fight and win” to safeguard sovereignty and territorial interests. Beijing has designated Taiwan, South China Sea claims, Senkaku Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh as non-negotiable “core interests,” extending beyond the Chinese Communist Party’s control and economic development priorities.
Under President Trump’s leadership, the report emphasized US-China relations are “stronger than they have been in many years,” with the Department of War supporting expanded military-to-military communications focused on strategic stability and deconfliction. The US seeks to “deny the ability of any country in the Indo-Pacific to dominate us or our allies” through strength rather than confrontation, pursuing “stable peace, fair trade, and respectful relations” from a position of military superiority.
