On October 21st Indian authorities said they had reached an agreement with China on patrolling rights that resolved the border standoff. The next day, China’s foreign ministry confirmed that a deal had been reached.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Russia. This was their first meeting since the hand-to-hand clashes of 2020 - their first fatal confrontation since 1975 - in which soldiers from both countries were killed.

While meeting in Russia, Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping triggered a diplomatic thaw after years of icy relations between India and China. But is it enough for the two Asian rivals to overcome their mutual mistrust?