Text/Rabi Sankar Bosu
China-India relations should still be led by cooperation, promote mutual benefit and complementarity and healthy competition, and avoid confrontation.
On April 1, 2020, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian President Kovind exchanged congratulatory messages. President Xi Jinping pointed out in the congratulatory message, "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations, and I am willing to work with President Kovind to push China-India relations to a new level, bring more benefits to the two countries and peoples, and contribute more positive energy to Asia and the world." ”
It is undeniable that China-India relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world today. Together, the two countries account for one-third of the world's population and nearly one-fifth of the world's total economy. China and India have a history of interaction and exchange for more than 2,000 years. However, in 2020, border guards from China and India clashed in the Galwan Valley, and bilateral relations seriously deteriorated.
In the past three years, protracted conflicts and confrontations between the border forces of China and India in the western part of the border have seriously affected bilateral relations and hindered economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. In 2022, the leaders of the two countries should shelve the dispute. The more than 2.7 billion peoples on both sides of the Himalayas should join hands to create a better future.
On March 31, 2022, local time, Mumbai, India, foreign tourists took photos in front of India' doors, and India's domestic tourism industry has gradually recovered.
The border conflict has led to a sharp decline in relations between the two countries
On June 15, 2020, the clashes in the Galwan Valley on the China-India border resulted in the deaths of border guards on both sides, bringing bilateral relations to a new low. This is a tragic tragedy. Regrettably, despite a series of bilateral agreements reached between China and India on the border issue, the two sides have not yet reached a complete agreement on how the two militaries can "disengage and avoid friction" on the disputed "Ladakh region" on the actual line of control. When there are large garrisons on both sides of the Line of Actual Control, tensions can heat up at any time and at any time because of a small matter.
The border dispute raises some unresolved questions: Will the skirmishes and tensions in the Sino-Indian border area continue, or will they be resolved through peaceful negotiations? Can the two countries blame each other after the conflict breaks out to restore normal to the situation on the border? This year is the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, will the new year bring new dimensions to the development of China-India relations?
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi once said: "The border dispute is a legacy of history, not the whole of Sino-Indian relations. He noted that both sides need to recognize that border confrontation is not in either side's interest.
After the conflict in the Galwan Valley, India's China policy entered a dangerous phase. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government has taken a series of tough measures against China hawks, such as cracking down on Chinese companies and sanctions against Chinese companies and banning mobile apps with Chinese backgrounds. India's leadership has accelerated its strategic closer to the United States and has described China as an "expansionist." India has introduced new rules of engagement in the China-India border area, giving border force commanders "full freedom" to act on the Line of Actual Control. India's various actions, including trying to curry favor with the United States, restarting the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Mechanism, and canceling orders with Chinese companies, have hindered the healthy and stable development of Sino-Indian relations. This trend could even hinder India's vision of becoming a "$5 trillion economy" by 2024.
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence: Safeguards for Sino-Indian Relations
The Chinese and Indian peoples should draw impetus from history, redouble their efforts on the basis laid by their predecessors, and write a new chapter in the friendship between the two countries. In the 1950s, China and India issued a joint statement affirming the application of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in their mutual relations and in their respective countries' relations with other countries in Asia and the rest of the world. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are known in India as the "Panchasila". The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence put forward in 1954 advocate mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, which have long been the basis for peaceful relations between China and India's two Asian neighbors.
However, after the Sino-Indian border war in 1962, the relationship between the two countries was at a low ebb for a long time. In 1988, then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi paid an official visit to China. This "ice-breaking" trip has played a key role in restoring and developing friendship between the two countries. Against this backdrop, the late Chinese leader and chief architect of China's reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping, reaffirmed the importance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in December 1988, stating that the Five Principles are the basic norms of international exchanges. Deng Xiaoping said: "The real Asia-Pacific century or Asian century will not come until China, India and some other neighboring countries develop." ”
On April 27, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan, Hubei Province, who had come to China for an informal meeting.
Since then, successive Indian and Chinese governments have taken a more proactive approach to improving bilateral relations, with an eye toward shaping the Asian century. Through the special form of "hometown diplomacy", President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi have established good working relations and personal friendships, and created a new model of leaders' exchanges. In April 2018, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met informally in Wuhan, China, reaffirming that the two countries are not threats or rivals to each other, and that the two countries should commit themselves to promoting friendly cooperation in the economic and trade fields while maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas. In October 2019, the second informal meeting between the leaders of China and India was held in Chennai, India, and the two sides promoted mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and trade fields and strengthened in-depth strategic communication. President Xi Jinping pointed out that the realization of the "dragon and elephant dance together" is the only correct choice between China and India. This reference fully reflects cooperation, equality and mutual respect.
After the Doklam standoff in 2017 and the Galwan Valley events in 2020, a return to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence may be the best option to ensure the healthy development of Sino-Indian relations. In December 2021, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that harmonious coexistence and win-win cooperation between China and India is an inevitable choice and the right direction for China-India relations. Sino-Indian cooperation is not only beneficial to the two peoples, but also beneficial to the world. Therefore, the two countries should get out of the shadow of border disputes, enhance mutual understanding, avoid conflict and confrontation, focus on the overall situation, not dwell on accidental events, and achieve each other instead of consuming each other.
Revisit the relationship between the two countries
It is worth noting that despite the twists and turns in Sino-Indian relations in recent years, the trade volume between the two countries reached an all-time high in 2021, exceeding $125 billion. Despite calls by Indian political parties to boycott Chinese products and restrict Chinese investment, According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, China's exports to India reached $97.52 billion in 2021, and the bilateral trade volume between China and India reached $125.66 billion. Encouragingly, India's exports to China are also growing steadily. According to data released by the Federation of Export Organisations of India, India's exports to China exceeded $26 billion in 2021, compared to just $19 billion in 2020 and $17.1 billion in 2019.
It is estimated that hundreds of Chinese companies doing business in India have created at least 200,000 jobs there. All parties hope that the Indian government will create a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment, so that Chinese enterprises can invest in "Made in India" projects and do business in India smoothly, which is also conducive to India's national interests. If the Indian government creates obstacles for Chinese companies or even drives them out of the Indian market, this will not bring any benefit to India. Data from both China and India show that India's rush to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market will only have a negative impact on itself.
China-India relations should still be led by cooperation, promote mutual benefit and complementarity and healthy competition, and avoid confrontation. China has the sincerity to improve its relations with India, but hopes that sincerity is a two-way street. Sino-Indian relations are not "dragon-elephant rivalry", but "dragon-elephant dance together". India should realize the "Made in India" vision by strengthening economic cooperation with China. In 2022, it is time for the decision-makers of the two countries to summon up the courage and join hands to achieve the "dragon and elephant dance together".
The author is the founder and secretary general of the New Horizons Radio Listeners Club, a Sino-Indian friendship organization in West Bengal, India.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the China-India Dialogue and may not be reproduced by the media without permission.
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