(TibetanReview.net, Dec30’25) – China’s official media has on Dec 30 sought to ridicule and condemn India’s movie on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between its troops and Indian troops, which is set for release in Apr 2026, while using the occasion to reiterate its version of the event which is an exact opposite of India’s position. India said at that time that 20 of its soldiers died in that nighttime clash, which involved the use of crude but lethal improvised weapons from the Chinese side while Beijing belatedly admitted the death of four of its troops and used it to rouse anti-India sentiment across the country on successive occasions.
The movie’s trailer, released on Dec 27 by lead actor Salman Khan sparked online controversy on Dec 29, said a globaltimes.cn report Dec 20, referring to reactions from Chinese social media users and an unnamed Chinese expert.
The report sought to ridicule Salman Khan as someone who is often teased by Chinese netizens for playing roles that appear too invincible, with plots too simplistic, and visual effects so exaggerated that make the drama seem unreal. Of course, Chinese Kungfu movie heroes beat him hands down in that department, defying gravity to soar up on rooftops and hopping from tree to tree. But that is surely not an issue.
The report cited a Weibo user under the handle “Qingning Riyue v” as saying the Indian ‘over-the-top’ film seriously contradict the facts.
It also cited a Chinese “expert” as saying Bollywood films at most provide an entertainment-driven, emotionally charged portrayal, but no amount of cinematic exaggeration can rewrite the history or shake the PLA’s determination to defend China’s sovereign territory.
The film has also drawn other controversies online, including “most importantly,” for its “a portrayal of events that does not align with the facts,” the report claimed.
The report then sought to present China’s version of the sequence of events, which is an exact opposite of India’s allegations. It cited China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson as having said as early as 2020 that “the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the west section of the China-India boundary,” that “for many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region. Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s narrative was stated to have continued that “by the early morning of May 6 in 2020, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China’s territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas.”
Then, regarding what happened in the night of the tragic incident, which is also starkly the opposite of India’s position, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson was cited as having said: “On Jun 15 2020, India’s front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting earlier, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.”
On the other hand, India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar has repeatedly said over the years that China had violated written border agreements and normal bilateral relations cannot be resumed without the restoration of the severe trust deficit engendered by it.