51. Foreseeing India-China Relations: The Compromised Context of Rapprochement
- Author:
- Ranjan K. Panda
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- India-China relations witnessed a new wave of optimism for a progressive and engaging partnership following the Wuhan Summit, the informal 2018 meeting between Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping. Key to this has been continuous exchange of political and official visits from both sides. However, these exchanges might not be sufficient to remove uncertainty and suspicion from their relations. As long as China’s relationship with the United States remains adversarial, China will embrace India—without guaranteeing that it will not adopt a confrontational posture in the future. Their shifting relations, though suggesting an official longing for an upward trajectory, are based on a compromised context. External circumstances have pushed them to rapprochement, but could also drive them apart. Whether India and China will sustain this rapprochement is difficult to foresee.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus