… [China’s] summit with [India]….. brings together the leaders of more than a third of humanity and of the two countries whose growth is the starting-point for all serious discussion of the global economy in the 21st century. Few bilateral relationships are more important than this. This one matters to us all.
- ‘Rivals in Partnership’, The Guardian, November 22, 2006.
The term ‘South Asia’ only found its way twice into the recent Sino-U.S. Joint Statement issued during President Obama’s trip to Beijing – but it was enough to ruffle feathers on the other side of the Himalayas, and many Indians viewed the reference as an interventionist move by China to meddle in sensitive issues of the sub-continent. The controversy surrounding the Joint Statement was just another incident in the long string of seemingly hostile strategies, press releases and communiqués that have characterized Indo-China ties in the past few months. Contentious border problems have come to the forefront, and hawkish media entities and political circles in both countries have predicted an inevitable war. Yet, it is easy to forget amidst all the uproar that China has emerged as India’s largest trading partner since 2008 and its volume between these emerging giants is well on course to reach $60 billion by 2010. Their mammoth economies have extensively co-operated in leading the world out of the global financial crisis, and both nations acknowledge the value of their commercial relationship. What, then, explains the growing tensions between India and China as these powerhouses remained locked in a curious relationship that befuddles analysts and policy makers alike?
This piece, divided into 5 parts, examines the paradigm shift in relations between India and China that has influenced their bilateral relationship in recent years. While the Sino-Indian discourse had hitherto focused on the territorial space, it is being increasingly defined by emergence in economic growth and strategic regional clout. To this extent, as is noted later, it would not be improper to state that these ‘new’ factors in Indo-China relations have in fact, dictated the countries’ positions on borders, and territorial suzerainty.
(Image courtesy telegyaan.com)
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