India-China Relation

Areas of Cooperation

• Economic Relations- India-China trade has increased from mere $ 3 billion in 2000 to $100 billion in 2021.
• India is the 7th largest export destination for Chinese products, and the 27th largest exporter to China.
• These relations are shaped through various dialogue mechanism such as Joint Economic Group led by the Commerce Ministers of both sides
• Strategic Cooperation- Both countries are part of groupings such as the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Russia-India-China (RIC), BRICS among others.
• In the Doha Round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiation, India and China coordinated their stands on several issues. (Developed Vs Developing)
• Both have advocated democratization of international institutions such as World Bank, IMF, WTO etc.
• Political Engagement- there are regular visits of heads of states from both the countries. The Foreign Ministers have been meeting regularly.
• Cultural Relations- cut across from long historical bonds (e.g. Silk Route) to recent celebrations of events like Colors of India Festival in China. These relations include elements like Yoga, Bollywood and Buddhist events.
• Education Relations- India and China signed Education Exchange Programme (EEP) in 2006, which is an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between the two countries.
• Large Diaspora- The Indian community in China is growing. Present estimates put the community strength to around 35,500.

Concerns

China- Pak Axis and its impact on India

• Dispute over Kashmir- China reiterated Pakistan’s position and called India’s move to abolish Kashmir’s special status “not acceptable” and it was not binding.
• China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC): India considers building of the CPEC as China's interference in India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. But China has not deterred from going ahead.
• Designation of Terrorists- China has repeatedly blocked the UN Security Council resolution to designate Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. (Designated in 2019 because US initiate it in UN).
• Nuclear Suppliers Group: China has been blocking India's attempt to entry to NSG to build a case for Pakistan.
• Border Disputes: India and China share about 3,488-km long border, which is yet to be fully delineated and both nations have faced border incursions/ intrusions.
• Arunachal Pradesh and Stapled Visa: China issues stapled visa to residents of Arunachal Pradesh and had also announced “standardised” official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh because it considers Arunachal Pradesh as part of Tibet.
  (People in AP enter into Chin, Chinese Govt not give visa because Chinese treat AP as Chinese territory, Give line of Permit not Visa).
• The Dalai Lama and Tibet: The Dalai Lama formed a Tibetan government in exile, which still functions without any real authority over the people. More recently India changed the venue of “Thank You India” programmes considering China’s concerns with this.
• Trade imbalance: Trade imbalance between the two countries is skewed in China’s favour and it has a trade surplus of $55 billion in 2021.
• Chinese Initiatives: There are many Chinese initiatives that India is suspicious about to.
• Belt and Road Initiative: India boycotted the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit held in Beijing in 2017, which even Chinese adversaries such as Japan and the United States attended.
• String of pearls: It is a Chinese policy to encircle India by building ports and naval bases around India's maritime reaches such as Cocos Island, Kyaukphyu Myanmar, Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Marao Atoll (Maldives) and Gwadar (Pakistan).
• India, on the other hand, has been trying to develop closer arrangements with the countries surrounding China such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam and also with the central Asian neighbours of China.

• Proximity with US- India has been siding with US in various domains including increased defence participation and the activities in Indo-Pacific. These developments have concerned China.
• 5G Trials - India's telecom ministry has left out Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE from its 5G trials, becoming the latest country to lock the firms out.
• The US says Huawei could be used by China for spying, via its 5G equipment and its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has even ordered certain US telecommunications companies to remove Huawei equipment from their network.
• River Water Dispute: China has been building dams (Jiexu, Zangmu and Jiacha) in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra which is called Tsangpo in Tibet. India has objected to its but there has been no formal treaty over sharing of the Brahmaputra water. (China Construct 500+ dam in Brahmaputra River which enter into Assam, it reduces water flow & Water Boom – Sudden release of water from Dam).
• India’s role in Doklam (2016) escalated the situation towards armed conflict between the two countries.

Border Stand off: 2020-21

Major Outcomes of Wuhan Informal Summit

• Border dispute- On the bilateral front, they decided to issue strategic guidance to their militaries to strengthen communication and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs.
• Trade deficit- Both sides addressed measures to better balance the ballooning trade deficit of about $52 billion (of about $84 billion bilateral trade), mostly by encouraging agricultural and pharmaceutical exports to China.
• Terrorism- Both the countries recognized the common threat posed by terrorism and reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
• Afghanistan- Both leaders discussed a joint economic project in Afghanistan. The proposed joint economic project in Afghanistan could be instrumental in mitigating the trust deficit between the two sides.
• On Global Challenges- They agreed to jointly contribute towards sustainable solutions for global challenges including climate change, sustainable development, food security etc. and underline the importance of reform of multilateral financial and political institutions to make them representative and responsive to the needs of developing countries.
• Unresolved Issues- Finally, they attempted to reduce the heat over unresolved issues and so-called “irritants” in the relationship, such as China’s block on
• India’s NSG membership bid or the UN’s terror designation for Pakistan-based groups, and India’s opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative or its use of the Tibet issue.
• For this, existing mechanisms of dialogue will be strengthened, not allowing broader bilateral movement to be hit.
• The recent Mamallapuram Summit has begun a “New Era of Cooperation” between India and China.
• First India- China informal summit invoked the ‘Wuhan spirit’, whereas the second informal India-China summit has called for ‘Chennai Connect.

India’s Three-Pronged Strategy towards China

• The first prong is to engage in bilateral and multilateral forums such as BRICS, SCO and the Russia-India-China trilateral, in order to maintain overall stability, deepen economic ties, and foster diplomatic cooperation on regional and international issues.
• India has also sustained efforts to enhance its military and deterrent capabilities as the second prong of policy.
• There is an emerging third prong in India’s China policy in the form of new external balancing effort.
• The evolution of India-US relations in particular but also of India’s relationships with Japan and Australia as well as the quadrilateral cooperation among them indicates a growing convergence in their views regarding stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Way Forward

• Necessary to build up economic and security capabilities and begin to close the power gap with China.
• India’s foreign policy formulations on China and Pakistan need no longer be considered as separate instead one hyphenated strategic entity.
• Time for India to join hands with Japan, US and EU to promote alternatives to Chinese economic exploitation.
• India should aggressively pursue ‘Cotton Route’, Project Mausam and Spice Route to strengthen economic ties between countries in the Indian Ocean rim.
• Bring into action planned strategic Asia Africa Growth Corridor with the help of Japan.
• Quad Grouping should be made more effective to play important role in the Indian ocean security.
• Wuhan and Mamalapuram like summits should continue to ease the tension between India and China.
• 5 Editorials – 51st Edition; 56th Edition (Nuclear Policy); 23rd Edition (Border Clash)