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 Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi exchanged congratulatory messages with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar respectively on the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations.

In February and April 2021, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi had two telephone conversations with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and in July, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Dushanbe during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization（SCO） Foreign Ministers' Meeting.In September, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar again in Dushanbe.

In March 2022, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval during his working visit to India and held talks with Indian External Affairs MinisterSubrahmanyam Jaishankar.In July, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia.

In March 2023, the Foreign Ministers of China and India met bilaterally in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.In May, the Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Goa on the sidelines of theSCO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.In July, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Jakarta on the sidelines of the ASEAN PlusForeign Ministers' Meetingsand in Johannesburg met with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval on the sidelines of the 13th BRICS Senior Representatives Meeting on Security Affairs.In August2023, President Xi Jinping held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon request on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

In July 2024, Minister of Foreign Affairsand Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central CommitteeWang Yi,met with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar twice on the sidelines of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizationand the ASEAN PlusForeign Ministers' Meetings. In September, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval in St Petersburg.In October, President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan , reaching important understandings on improving and growing China-India relations.In November, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Rio deJaneiro.On December, Wang Yi, Special Representative of China, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committeeand Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Ajit Kumar Doval, Special Representative of India and National Security Advisor, held the 23rd meeting of the Special Representatives of China and India on the border questionin Beijing.

In February 2025, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Johannesburg.

The China-India boundary negotiations have continued to move forward and 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.