Opinion On China, a new turn

The headlines about military tensions on the disputed northern border casting a shadow over President Xi Jinping’s just concluded visit to India might have got the essence of the story rather wrong. What’s new is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s deliberate choice to expand economic engagement with China while asking the Indian military to respond vigorously to the PLA incursions and pressing Xi publicly for an early resolution of the boundary dispute. Until recently, official India’s formal rhetoric soared high on slogans of Asian solidarity and the building of a non-Western global order. But Delhi’s multiple problems with Beijing, including the boundary dispute and China’s relationship with India’s neighbours, prevented the pursuit of practical cooperation with Beijing in a wide range of areas.

Modi may be taking India out of this self-defeating approach to China marked by public bonhomie and private resentment. By simultaneously signalling toughness on the border and opening up the Indian economy to greater Chinese participation, he is trying to construct a new template for Delhi’s Beijing policy. Most of the agreements signed during Xi’s visit relate to commercial cooperation and reflect Modi’s recognition that China is integral to India’s economic growth. These range from the establishment of two Chinese industrial parks in India to addressing the massive trade imbalance, currently in favour of Beijing. India has also sought Chinese expertise in the modernisation of the Indian Railways and the improvement of decrepit urban infrastructure through sister city arrangements like the one between Mumbai and Shanghai. Delhi’s conservative security establishment, however, may have prevented Modi from initiating bolder moves like opening the Sikkim border for regular bilateral trade, liberalising the visa regime and showing greater enthusiasm for Xi’s Silk Road initiatives.

Advertisement

If Modi has opened the door for a more pragmatic economic engagement with Beijing, he faces a much bigger challenge than his predecessors in addressing China’s assertiveness on the disputed border and in the emerging contest for influence in South Asia. With China’s GDP now four times larger than that of India, its political leadership supremely self-assured, and a powerful PLA willing to take more risks on the border, Modi has his task cut out on the security front. His emphasis on modernising India’s armed forces and upgrading its defence-industrial base must be seen in this context. Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee’s recent visit to Vietnam and the PM’s trip to Japan earlier this month underline Modi’s quest for solid security partnerships in Asia to balance China’s rising power. As India’s relationship with China enters a more dynamic phase, the recent past may no longer be a guide to the future.