when an 8yo kid gets angry over something & punches his own dad with all his might, do you think the dad will respond also be punching the kid with all his might? no ofcourse not because if he does that the kid will be smashed so instead he will mostly just hold the kid and calm him down and if it was like an extremely strict father he may just slap him to put him in his place and that is it.
the Chinese just wanted to give you a face saving exist, because if they don't then your poor PM will be pressured into attacking China, and if he does start a war with China... the Chinese military industrial complex will be using India & it's army as a testing ground for all the weapons they have been developing for the past several years.