The China-India “reset” marks a new warmth that appears to confirm the judgment of many analysts that the India-China competition has been well managed by a process of regular political engagement. But there is another side to the story. The underlying sources of tension between the two countries remain unaddressed, while new problems are looming. A useful framework for understanding the strategic relationship is that of comparative nuclear rivalries, a surprisingly under-explored phenomenon considering the enormous effort expended on the study of inter-state rivalry.