China-India diplomats are shaking hands, but it’s no holds barred for web users. Why?

The Chinese ambassador to India’s attempt at bridge-building has triggered a fierce nationalist backlash back home, including accusations that he has lost sight of his role. “The ambassador seems to have forgotten his actual job,” one social media user wrote this month of Xu Feihong, arguing that the envoy’s role was to make Indians more friendly towards China – not the other way round. Another took a xenophobic turn, accusing Xu of “letting hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Indian ‘cockroaches’ flood into China” and “polluting the country”. In June, Xu described China-India ties as being among the “most important” bilateral relationships in the world”, saying they had moved from a “reset and fresh start” to a “new level of development”. Yet the online outrage extends far beyond Xu’s specific comments. It reflects deep-seated frustration over Beijing’s recent diplomatic overtures to New Delhi, with Xu – as China’s public face in India – becoming a lightning rod for the public anger. But even as online commenters vent their fury, official state policy and public demand are moving in the opposite direction. Six years after clashes on their disputed Himalayan border left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead, the two sides are finally moving to rebuild their shattered relationship. The Chinese embassy in New Delhi reported issuing 85,000 visas to Indian passport holders in the first quarter of 2026. The surge comes as the neighbours work to mend diplomatic ties, alongside growing curiosity among many Indians regarding China’s rapid technological and economic growth. Amid the thaw, China has reopened the Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage route through Tibet, sacred to followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon, while India has eased some restrictions on Chinese investment. New Delhi is also considering allowing Chinese journalists to return for the first time since 2023, when the last Xinhua reporter left the country after being denied a visa extension. However, it has yet to reciprocate on travel permits, as Chinese nationals continue to face significant hurdles in securing Indian visas. But a different battle is unfolding online, revealing the gap between government-led attempts at normalisation and decades of entrenched public hostility on both sides. Observers say rebuilding public trust could prove far harder than restoring flights, visas and diplomatic engagement. Still, some pragmatic voices in China have pushed back against the backlash, warning that sensationalist portrayals of the other country – often drawn from isolated negative incidents – risk entrenching stereotypes. They argue that such narratives are driven less by patriotism than by the pursuit of online attention and traffic. A series of viral incidents has further inflamed online sentiment. Since May, multiple videos circulating on Chinese social media have shown Indian tourists engaging in disruptive behaviour, including arguing loudly with hotel staff, dancing on the Great Wall, and placing their feet on seats aboard high-speed trains. Many Chinese web users condemned such “uncivilised” conduct, saying such behaviour harmed the country’s social environment. Meanwhile, clips of Indian tourists just walking through Chinese cities have prompted online questions about whether they had enough money to spend. Another widely shared video clip from a visiting Indian influencer drew criticism for asking passers-by stereotypical questions, such as mocking the quality of China’s infrastructure and asking if they were wearing fake Gucci products. A recent commentary in Chinese state-owned outlet The Paper warned about the rise of biased social media content exaggerating the “outrageous” or bizarre aspects of life in India, while amplifying alleged misconduct by Indians in China. This risked creating a fragmented and stereotypical view of the country, it cautioned. “Although these posts may appear to be expressions of patriotism, they are actually designed to generate traffic and attention by stoking hostility and xenophobia,” the article said. “We cannot negate an entire country because of a few individuals.” Last month, a heated online debate erupted between Indian and Chinese web users over social hierarchies, with some Indians arguing that China had a “caste-like system” comparable to India’s hereditary social structure. To support their argument, they pointed to ancient China’s Shi-Nong-Gong-Shang social hierarchy and the modern hukou household registration system, arguing that both had fostered deep, enduring urban-rural disparities for migrant workers. “Born rural? Tough luck. You’re basically a second-class citizen locked out of proper education, healthcare, housing subsidies, and decent jobs,” posted one user from India. “It’s a caste system … that traps hundreds of millions in poverty.” A YouTube video on the issue, titled “Indians expose China’s caste system” and produced by an Indian influencer with 1.7 million subscribers, drew nearly 550,000 views. Chinese social media users hit back, with one highlighting that in China’s administrative system “the children of farmers can become officials, merchants, or workers through their own efforts”. “All countries in the world have these occupational divisions. Indians, with your level of understanding, it’s better not to come out and embarrass yourself.” He Xianqing, an associate researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, noted there was “no doubt” that online and media-driven nationalism had had a negative impact on the positive development of China-India relations. “If the peoples of the two countries do not understand each other and public support is weak, the momentum for cooperation between the two sides will be limited, which may eventually backfire on the cooperative relationship,” he warned. But he also emphasised that such digital friction had its limits. “Nationalistic remarks or sentiments are irrational after all, and they are an unsystematic public opinion reaction,” he said, arguing that they would fail to derail the diplomatic momentum between the two governments. “There are also some rational voices on both sides, and we should listen more to these rational voices.” He also called on both sides to organise more Track 2 dialogues and cultural exchange activities, “using the power of experts to provide a rational voice for public opinion in both countries”. Sourabh Gupta of the Institute for China-American Studies said nationalist rhetoric had long been a feature of the bilateral relationship, but largely on the Indian side. “The novel feature is that the sentiment is now beginning to be shared both ways.” Gupta argued that the geopolitical disruption caused by US President Donald Trump had provided a “tailwind to the calculus of tentative rapprochement”. Just as New Delhi had largely learned to look past public opinion in managing ties with China, Beijing was also likely to see beyond nationalist rhetoric and press ahead. “It is not as if the two governments are racing ahead of public opinion. Their bilateral relationship is no longer at the failing stage, but that’s about the best that can be said about the state of ties currently,” Gupta noted. “China is not the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to see Indian tourists or workers in such dim light, and there might be a lesson for travelling Indians to internalise too in this regard.”

China-India diplomats are shaking hands, but it’s no holds barred for web users. Why?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As economic and travel links recover, digital battles threaten to undermine official efforts to repair ties six years after deadly clashes

As economic and travel links recover, digital battles threaten to undermine official efforts to repair ties six years after deadly clashes