Relations deteriorated rapidly after the Collision with the Galwan Valley in 2020, when troops were deployed on both sides of the poorly demarcated border in the Himalayas, the so-called Line of Actual Control, resulting in the deaths of soldiers from both countries.
During Wang’s unannounced visit to India in March 2022, the first by a senior Chinese official since the Galwan clashes, he said the border issue must take its “proper place” in bilateral relations and should not “determine or even influence” the overall development of relations.
In a somewhat softening tone towards New Delhi, Wang also said that Beijing does not seek a “unipolar Asia”, respects India’s traditional role in the region and would welcome both sides exploring “China-India Plus” cooperation in South Asia. He added that both sides are committed to multilateral institutions such as the Brics Grouping and the Group of 20 with a “cooperative attitude”.
More recently, at the ASEAN – The European Union At a meeting of foreign ministers in Vientiane, Laos, last month, Jaishankar said maintaining stable bilateral relations was “of particular importance for maintaining regional peace and promoting multipolarity.” Wang said restoring China-India ties would meet the shared aspirations of the global South.
Despite the border dispute, the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have largely maintained cordial and constructive relations. Since 2014, they have held 16 bilateral meetings and met several times on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings.
Xi has expressed to Modi that both countries’ development ambitions are opportunities rather than threats. Perhaps the most striking series of diplomatic events between the two leaders was their “Hometown diplomacy‘, after agreeing to significantly promote bilateral convergence by holding informal summits at different locations in their respective countries.
At the first informal summit in Wuhan, China, in 2018, both sides managed to reach consensus on long-term and strategic issues, including agreements on reforming global governance mechanisms, maintaining multilateral trade institutions and securing safeguards against global financial and economic instability, as well as the two leaders’ respective visions for national development.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose with dancers at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, Hubei province, April 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters
At their 2019 informal summit in Chennai, India, Xi and Modi reaffirmed the Wuhan Consensus and agreed to a closer partnership in their joint development efforts. Both sides also expressed support for mutual learning and exchanges between the two “ancient civilizations.”
At the institutional level, China and India are members of various multilateral organizations, including the Russia-India-China trilateral agreement, the BRICS countries, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the G20.
Both countries are also involved in a number of important regional multilateral lending institutions. For example, India was one of the first founding members of the China-launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015.
India is also the second largest shareholder of the AIIB after China and has a single group of members on the Board of Directors. In 2018, India also hosted the Bank’s third Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. As members of the BRICS group, China and India were also among the co-founders of the New Development Bank.
China and India are emerging as the new superpowers of the 21st century, while at the same time recognizing the need to pursue common goals on their respective development paths.
A worker operates a machine at a solar production plant in Sriperumbudur, India, on January 11. Photo: AFP
Although their conflicts often dominate international headlines, numerous ongoing, albeit behind-the-scenes, dialogues continue to push the two countries toward a path of cooperation.
Since the clash in Galwan Valley, there have been 30 rounds of discussionsBilateral military and diplomatic meetings have led to a separation at several friction points along the Line of Actual Control, but more needs to be done to achieve a fully comprehensive solution.
Aside from their border dispute, which both sides say is a source of great bitterness, China and India recognize that this will be their century as the world looks to Asia economically, politically and culturally. Ultimately, neither Beijing nor New Delhi wants to jeopardize their respective destinies as great civilizations long overdue for a return to global leadership.
Bob Savic is a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute in London, UK, and Visiting Professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Nottingham.
