Friday's informal talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping mark an improvement in relations. Analyst Shashank Joshi explains why.
Last year, India and China were locked in their most serious border crisis in the last three decades. China's state-controlled media was issuing near-daily threats of war, as both sides built up forces on the edge of the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan.
It would have seemed implausible that, just eight months on, Mr Modi and Mr Xi would be meeting at an informal summit. But this is exactly what it is happening in the Chinese city of Wuhan, as the two leaders convene far from their capitals, without aides or an agenda, and plenty of time to discuss their mounting differences.
But the meeting does not come out of the blue. After the border dispute was defused in August, Mr Modi and Mr Xi broke the ice at the Brics summit in September, alongside the leaders of Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
A flurry of high-level visits to China followed, including by India's foreign secretary, national security adviser, foreign minister and defence minister.
There were also…
