China Monitor
The monitor features developments related to China during the month and is compiled by our research team of Amb. Biren Nanda, Senior Fellow, and Sanket Joshi, Research Associate, from open-source reports and publications.
On November 17, 2025, during his remarks at a defence dialogue in New Delhi, Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi stated that since the October 2024 meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi in Kazan, relations between India and China have improved significantly. He stressed the importance of coordinated diplomacy, emphasising that political directives aligned with defence diplomacy have become an instrument of “smart power” for maintaining stability along the border.Earlier, on November 14, 2025, Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, announced that the Mudh-Nyoma Air Base has been operationalised in Ladakh, strengthening India's operational capability along the border with China.
On November 21, 2025, a woman hailing from India’s state of Arunachal Pradesh was detained at Shanghai airport after the Chinese authorities refused to recognise her Indian passport during a transit halt. As India protested China’s arbitrary detention of its citizen, China reiterated that it “does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India” and that “Zangnan (Arunachal Pradesh) is China’s territory”. Reacting to this, India asserted that “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India and no amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump held a phone conversation on November 24, 2025. President Xi elaborated on his successful meeting with President Trump in Busan, noting that it had given forward momentum to the China-US relationship, sending a positive message to the world. Major issues discussed by President Xi included creating new avenues for cooperation, Taiwan’s return to China as an integral part of the post-World War II international order, and Beijing’s support for all efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan on November 7, 2025 triggered a war of words between Japan and China. In her remarks in the Japanese Parliament, PM Takaichi asserted that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Reacting sharply, an editorial by the People’s Daily warned that “China will not tolerate Japanese provocation on the Taiwan question”, emphasising that such remarks represent an interference in China’s internal affairs, a violation of the one-China principle, and a challenge to the post-World War II international order.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang addressed the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 23, 2025. As the world economy faces major challenges such as unilateralism and protectionism, as well as escalating trade restrictions and confrontations, Premier Li urged the G20 to promote international solidarity and cooperation, safeguard free trade and build an open world economy.
Marking a significant step in China’s military modernisation, on November 5, 2025, President Xi attended the commissioning and flag-presenting ceremony of China’s third aircraft carrier, “the Fujian”, in Sanya, Hainan. It is China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults (EMALS).
To read this China Monitor, Vol. VIII, Issue 11, please see the PDF attached.
