China and India established diplomatic relations on 1 April 1950. In the 1950s, the leaders of China and India jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the two sides maintained close exchanges. In 1959, the relations between China and India deteriorated. In October 1962, a large-scale armed conflict occurred along the China-India border. After the resumption of the exchange of ambassadors in 1976, the relations between the two countries gradually improved. In 1988, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China, opening a new chapter in the China-India relations. Since then, high-level exchanges between the two countries have gradually become closer, and leaders of the two countries have exchanged visits many times.

Since the beginning of the new century, exchanges between China and India have become increasingly close. In June 2003, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited  China and the two sides signed the Declaration on Principles of China-India Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation. In April 2005, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India , when the two sides signed a Joint Statement, announcing the establishment of a Strategic Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity. In November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a state visit to India. The two sides issued a Joint Declaration and formulated Ten Strategies to deepen the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. In January 2008, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited China and the two countries signed the China-India Joint Vision for the 21st Century. The year 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. In May, Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil paid a state visit to China. In December, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India and the two sides signed the Joint Communiqué between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India. 

The year 2011 is declared as the Year of China-India Exchange. The year 2012 is declared as the Year of China-India Friendship and Cooperation. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao held bilateral meetings with Indian Prime Minister Singh during the BRICS Summit and the UN Conference on Sustainable Development respectively.

From 2013 to 2019, leaders of the two countries exchanged visits or held bilateral meetings on multilateral occasions. 

In 2013, China-India relations maintained a momentum of steady development. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to India and the two sides issued a Joint Statement.

The year 2014 is declared as the Year of China-India Friendly Exchanges. In September 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to India and the two sides issued a Joint Statement on Building an Even Closer Partnership for Development. In April 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping，Premier Li Keqiang, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged congratulatory messages with President Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar respectively on the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations.

The China-India boundary negotiations have continued to move forward and the border areas have generally maintained peace and tranquility. The economic cooperation between the two countries has been expanding, the exchanges and cooperation in military and security fields have been developing steadily, and the exchanges and cooperation in people-to-people and cultural fields have been expanding.

China and India have maintained communication and coordination in the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, BRICS, the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China-Russia-India mechanisms, and worked together in such areas as climate change, energy and food security, reform of international financial institutions and global governance to safeguard the common interests of China, India and other developing countries.