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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to India's President Droupadi Murmu on January 26, 2026, on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day of India. He noted that China-India relations have improved over the past year and that this relationship is vital to promoting world peace and prosperity. He also described Beijing and New Delhi as “good-neighbourly friends and partners”, and called for expanded exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.
Earlier, on January 14, 2026, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), in New Delhi. Major issues discussed in their meeting included progress made in stabilising and rebuilding bilateral ties, ways to take bilateral engagement forward, and China’s support for India’s BRICS chairmanship.
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi addressed a press conference on critical aspects of national security on January 13, 2026. In his remarks on the situation on India’s Northern borders, he affirmed that the LAC remains stable and confidence-building measures are contributing to gradual normalisation. Reacting to China's continued infrastructure push in the disputed Shaksgam Valley, Gen. Dwivedi reiterated that the Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory and that New Delhi does not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963.
Following the military strike launched by the U.S. in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026, to capture Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, China condemned the U.S.’ “hegemonic behaviour” as a grave violation of international law and a threat to peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. Xinhua warned that the rules-based international order touted by the U.S. was a "predatory order based on U.S. interests". It cautioned that no sovereign nation is safe when “the law of the jungle” replaces international norms.
Amidst President Trump’s stated intent to acquire Greenland for U.S. national security, Chinese state media urged the European Union (EU) to resist Washington’s “hegemonic coercion” and strengthen its strategic autonomy.
On January 24, 2026, China’s Ministry of National Defence announced that Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and Liu Zhenli, Chief of Staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, were placed under investigation for suspected serious discipline and law violations. This marked a continuation of widespread and unprecedented purges in the PLA’s senior hierarchy under President Xi.
On January 19, 2026, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that the country’s GDP grew by 5 per cent in 2025, meeting the government’s annual target. Despite the trade war launched by the U.S., China also achieved a record trade surplus of USD 1.19 trillion in 2025.
To read this issue please click China Monitor, Vol. IX, Issue 1.
