An informal meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took place on April 27 and 28 with the aim of resetting the relationship between the two nations. During the summit, the two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues. Modi and Xi said that since the two nations represent 40 percent of the world’s population and are an import engine for global growth, they are central pillars for promoting a multipolar and globalized world.
A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world. The summit led some experts in New Delhi and Beijing to argue that it has set a major milestone in improving bilateral relations.
The political posturing by Modi and Xi was indeed very encouraging, especially when relations between the two nations has been at a low ebb: A 73-day military stand-off in the Doklam region last year, China’s deepening footsteps in South Asian nations, the China-Pakistan economic corridor running through part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the Modi government’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh last year and other factors badly affected relations.
Several academics and experts have argued that the two sides would be fast approaching a serious crisis if New Delhi and Beijing did not effectively use diplomatic tools to cool down tensions. Quite understandably, the governments of the two sides also realized the same rationale in normalizing their relationship.
Thus, the Doklam crisis was brought to a peaceful end and the two capitals focused on reversing the downward direction of bilateral ties. It was in this context that during Modi’s visit to China to attend a BRICS summit last year a proposal emerged for an informal meeting between the leaders of the two sides.
Soon after his visit to China in March, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale wrote a letter to the Cabinet secretary saying that the participation of senior leaders and dignitaries at a high-profile event commemorating the Dalai Lama’s 60 years of exile is not desirable and should be discouraged.
The Modi government also changed the venue of the event from New Delhi to Dharamshala in a bid to address China’s concerns about India’s position on the Tibet issue.
A series of high-level exchanges, including Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Dova’s visit to China, took place from April 12 to April 13.
After meeting Nepalese Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) floated the idea of a trilateral economic corridor with India and Nepal as part of a trade initiative.
Indian Minister of External Affairs Shushma Swaraj and Indian Minster of Defense Srishita Ram also visited China.
On the heels of these high-profile visits, Modi’s visit to China saw some significant steps taken by both sides to infuse new trust into their relations. India and China have agreed to improve communication between their militaries to maintain peace at the border, with the two leaders endorsing the work of special representatives in their efforts to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement.
The two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in all areas of the India-China border and agreed to undertake a joint India-China economic project in Afghanistan, which could help India to reduce Pakistan’s presence in that nation.
Both nations have their own reasons for taking the corrective efforts to bring ties back on track. For India, China’s deepening engagement in South Asia is a major cause of concern. An improvement in India-China ties would force South Asian neighbors not to play the China card against New Delhi.
In particular, New Delhi wants to see the expanding relationship between Beijing and Islamabad not become a major cause of concern for its security.
Another reason for New Delhi’s rapprochement toward Beijing is Modi not wanting to see Chinese posturing on the border with general elections only one year away.
For China, US President Donald Trump’s containment policy toward Beijing and a trade war necessitated Xi to improve ties with India in a bid to develop joint efforts to face the US administration’s protectionist approach.
Beijing is also concerned about the strengthening security cooperation between India and the US, as well as the revival of the quadrilateral group comprising the US, Japan, Australia and India.
The success of Modi’s visit will depend on the extent that the two sides develop a comprehensive mechanism to address each other’s concerns, including China’s stance on supporting India’s induction in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, how to resolve the border issue, and how China and India can work together in South Asia.
While the visit marked a new beginning in the direction of fostering at least a working relationship between the two nations, given Xi’s expansionist behavior, it appears highly unlikely that Beijing will show magnanimity in bridging the gap with India.
Sumit Kumar is a Ministry of Foreign Affairs visiting fellow at National Chengchi University and a research fellow at the Chennai Center for China Studies.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations