As the 18th Saarc summit gets underway in Kathmandu, New Delhi would undoubtedly be alert to any talk of elevating China’s status to a full member — for now, China is one of nine observers, including the US, EU, Japan and Myanmar. The traditional thinking in Delhi has been that China’s expansion of its influence and presence, economic and strategic, further southwards would be inimical to India’s interests. Beijing, the argument goes, could offer India’s neighbours an alternative for economic leadership, denting Delhi’s leverage in the regional forum. While China does not geographically belong in South Asia, Beijing’s footprint in the subcontinent has been growing and will likely continue to increase. As the world’s second-largest economy, China is too important to be ignored, and it is unwise to believe it can be kept at bay.
The inevitable expansion of Chinese influence is foretold by Beijing’s building of transport and economic infrastructure, from ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka to its promise of a $40 billion infrastructure fund from the Silk Road project to Saarc states, and by its offer of $1.6 billion to help Nepal develop its northern border districts. As China is a major economic partner for India too, the challenge for Delhi is to balance Chinese influence while enhancing its own economic cooperation with Beijing.
