China has strongly criticized India’s recent action of formally identifying 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on India’s official map. Chinese media on Sunday, August 9, 2026, labeled this move as "self-deception" and detrimental to the improving bilateral relations, potentially complicating efforts to resolve border issues.
India’s decision on Friday, August 7, 2026, to identify these 27 places, which include land areas, mountain passes, a lake, and a monument, was a direct response to China’s repeated attempts to rename locations within Arunachal Pradesh.
An article published in The Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with China’s Communist Party, quoted Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, who stated, "China has been carrying out standardisation of geographical names in the region for a long time. At a time when China-India relations are showing signs of improvement and leaders from both countries are expected to engage through multilateral platforms, any unilateral action by India that escalates the border situation shows no point and will not serve the broader interests of bilateral relations."
Feng further advised India to prevent the border issue from escalating into a larger dispute, as such actions could hinder the improving political ties between the two nations.
The report from China highlighted that the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs has, since 2017, issued six batches of standardized names for locations in the region, totaling 112 names by April 2026. These names encompass villages, mountain passes, rivers, and peaks, and are provided with standardized Chinese and Tibetan names along with geographic coordinates. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated on April 14 that China does not recognize Arunachal Pradesh.
Guo was quoted in the report as saying, "China-India relations are generally stable at the moment. China’s commitment to improving and growing China-India relations has not changed. We hope the two sides will work in the same direction and act more in ways conducive to bilateral relations."
Additionally, Guo Xuetang, a professor at the Center for South Asia and Indian Ocean Studies under Shanghai International Studies University, commented that India’s latest naming of 27 locations is merely a unilateral administrative action that does not alter the legal status of the area. According to Xuetang, India’s move aims to strengthen its claim over the region and gain leverage in future boundary negotiations. However, he cautioned that such actions are practically meaningless and will only undermine the atmosphere necessary for negotiations between the two countries.
Xuetang emphasized that the only viable solution to the China-India boundary issue is through equitable negotiations and a fair settlement based on historical and legal principles, warning that unilateral actions that create tensions or alter the status quo will only harm mutual trust and border stability.
