Fight each other, or dance in harmony? Question for China and India

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Chen Zhuo
Time
2020-07-14 18:51:42
Indian and Chinese national flags flutter side by side at the Raisina hills in New Delhi, India, in this file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

 

By Zhao Ruiqi

Recently, the China-India border dispute has attracted substantial international attention. On July 5,Chinese special representative State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke over the phone with Indian special representative and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to discuss the settlement of boundary issues. The two sides exchanged frank and in-depth views on easing the current state of affairs on boundary issues and reached positive consensus. It is expected that the friction that has lasted for many days will be alleviated.

However, the real recovery of China-India relations still has a long way to go. Currently, India's tragic consciousness, nationalist sentiment, and economic xenophobia have all had significant adverse impact on bilateral ties and companies of both sides. Banning on the use of 59 Chinese mobile applications, tough sanctions on Chinese products, and non-cooperation with China on international occasions are short-sighted because these acts will do more harm to India itself than China. They will significantly weaken its competitiveness since India’s weak overall planning, decentralized power, and backward technology.  

The decline in the relationship between the two countries would cause damage to India's economic achievements in recent years. There is no doubt that sound China-India relations will bring more benefits. Thus, adopting appropriate policy, attitude, strategies, and measures to alleviate situation would be better choices for India.

At the policy level, it’s better to put political stability above territorial claims. As neighboring countries, China and India should maintain a stable bilateral relationship. The two sides should follow the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and maintain peace and tranquility in border areas. Also, the two sides should put the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations to avoid the escalation of differences into disputes. Last but not least, the two sides must abide by a series of agreements signed by the two countries on the border issue to ensure the situation in the border area gradually degrades.

At the attitude level, it’s better for India not to let the prejudices of some classes and groups falsely affect the major policies. The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs avoided strong language while responding to the recent China-India relations. China has been trying to cool down the incident and take care of India's feelings. The Indian side should not take advantage of the border to agitate nationalist sentiment and divert domestic conflicts, and keep the keyboard warriors’ frenzy from affecting the national situation.  

By creating a benign geopolitical environment, cooperating to advance common interests, and embarking on a new path of national relations, the two sides can achieve a win-win situation.

China and India share a long border. The Chinese government puts its relations with neighboring countries high on its diplomatic agenda, and friendly Sino-India relationship is China's consistent policy. Taking China’s good will into consideration could probably benefit India’s anti-pandemic cause in the short term and its dream of becoming a major country with big say and influence in the long run. A dragon-elephant dance will bring greater benefits to both sides than a dragon-elephant fight.

 

(The author is a professor at the Communication University of China)

Disclaimer: This article is originally published on china.com.cn and translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

 

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