♤ 23 June 2003: Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee makes a landmark visit to China. This marks the Beginning of the Special Representatives framework on Border negotiations

♤ April 9, 2005: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits Bangalore to push for an increase in Sino-Indian cooperation in high-tech industries. India and China also sign an agreement aimed at resolving disputes over their Himalayan border.

♤ 6 July 2006: China and India re-open Nathu La Pass, which was closed since the Sino-Indian war in 1962.

♤ 25 May 2007: China denies a visa to Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, arguing that since the state is in fact a part of China he would not require a visa to visit his own country.

♤ 13 October 2009: China objects to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Arunachal

Pradesh.

♤ 3 January 2009: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits China. Bilateral trade

surpasses $50 billion and China becomes India’s largest trading partner in goods.

♤ 27 August 2010: India cancels defense exchanges with China after Beijing refuses to permit

Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal, head of the northern command, a visa because he “controlled” the

disputed area of Jammu and Kashmir. India subsequently refuses to allow two Chinese defense officials to visit New Delhi.

♤ November 2010: China started the practice of issuing stapled visas to people from Jammu and Kashmir.

♤ April 2013: The Chinese troops intruded into Depsang Bulge in East Ladakh, approximately 19 km inside our perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) claimed it to be a part of its Xinjiang province. They were, however, pushed back.

♤ May 2014: China congratulates Modi’s election victory. Later in the month, Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China considers disputed territory, invites remarks from the Chinese foreign ministry.

♤ June 2014: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi visits New Delhi to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Modi. Later in June, India’s vice president, Hamid Ansari, travels to Beijing on a five-day visit.

♤ July 2014: India’s army chief Bikram Singh travels to Beijing for a three-day trip. Later that month, P.M. Modi meets Xi for the first time during the BRICS summit in Brazil. The two meet for almost 80 minutes.

♤ August 2014: PM Modi visits Japan for five days and makes a speech describing the world as divided into two camps.

♤ September 2014: President Xi visits India, and P.M. Modi, breaking protocol, receives him in Ahmedabad. They spend an evening strolling on the banks of the Sabarmati river. China promises $20 billion worth of investments in India over five years. Both countries, however, remain engaged in a face-off at the border in Ladakh, after Chinese troops allegedly crossed over to the Indian side, through the entire visit.

♤ November 2014: President Xi invites P.M. Modi to attend the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Beijing. Modi declines the offer, but travels to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji. India also appoints its national security advisor, Ajit Doval, as the country’s special representative for Sino-India boundary negotiations.

♤ January 2015: During US president Barack Obama’s Republic Day visit, Obama and Modi reportedly spend some 45 minutes talking about China, and both express concern about Beijing’s expansionist stance, especially in the South China Sea.

♤ February 2015: Less than a week after Obama’s departure visit, foreign minister Swaraj

leaves for Beijing and meets president Xi.

♤ March 2015: India starts the 18th round of talks with China over the land boundary issue.

National security advisor Doval and China’s special representative Yang Jiechi meet in Delhi.