Conversation

12.28.21

Three Questions for China’s Neighbors

Richard J. Heydarian, Nirupama Rao & more
“China was, is, and will always be a good neighbor,” China’s leader Xi Jinping told ASEAN representatives in a November 2021 virtual meeting, after a series of conflicts over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea had raised tensions...

Books

02.24.20

Fateful Triangle

Tanvi Madan
Brookings Institution Press: In this Asian century, scholars, officials, and journalists are increasingly focused on the fate of the rivalry between China and India. They see the U.S.’s relationships with the two Asian giants as now intertwined, after having followed separate paths during the Cold War.In Fateful Triangle, Tanvi Madan argues that China’s influence on the U.S.-India relationship is neither a recent nor a momentary phenomenon. Drawing on documents from India and the United States, she shows that American and Indian perceptions of and policy toward China significantly shaped U.S.-India relations in three crucial decades, from 1949 to 1979. Fateful Triangle updates our understanding of the diplomatic history of U.S.-India relations, highlighting China’s central role in it; reassesses the origins and practice of Indian foreign policy and nonalignment; and provides historical context for the interactions between the three countries.Madan’s assessment of this formative period in the triangular relationship is of more than historic interest. A key question today is whether the United States and India can, or should, develop ever-closer ties as a way of countering China’s desire to be the dominant power in the broader Asian region. Fateful Triangle argues that history shows such a partnership is neither inevitable nor impossible. A desire to offset China brought the two countries closer together in the past, and could do so again. A look to history, however, also shows that shared perceptions of an external threat from China are necessary, but insufficient, to bring India and the United States into a close and sustained alignment. That requires agreement on the nature and urgency of the threat, as well as how to approach the threat strategically, economically, and ideologically.With its long view, Fateful Triangle offers insights for both present and future policymakers as they tackle a fateful, and evolving, triangle that has regional and global implications.{chop}

China-India Relations One Year After the Wuhan Summit

Paul Haenle, Rudra Chaudhuri & more from Carnegie China
In May 2018, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Wuhan for an informal summit that many say helped reset the relationship following the Doklam crisis. In this podcast, Paul Haenle spoke with Rudra Chaudhuri, Director of...

India as China’s Secret Business Weapon

Sintia Radu
As India rises on the global economic stage, foreign players are increasingly attracted to the seemingly unlimited and unexplored potential of the South Asian giant, which offers a market of 1.3 billion potential consumers.

Conversation

06.14.18

One Year After They Almost Went to War, Can China and India Get Along?

Joel Wuthnow, Selina Ho & more
One year ago, the Chinese and Indian armies faced off at Doklam, a disputed Himalayan area on the border between China, India, and the tiny kingdom of Bhutan. While the two sides didn’t go to war over the border as they did in 1962, tensions were...

Resetting China-India Relations

Paul Haenle & C. Raja Mohan from Carnegie China
Following a year marked by mounting tensions between China and India, President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Wuhan for an informal summit in April to reset the relationship. Major points of tension dominating China-India...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping for Informal Summit

Manveena Suri and Ben Westcott
CNN
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the beginning of his informal two-day relation-building summit in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

When Modi and Xi Meet, Indian Elections Will Set the Tone

Jeffrey Gettleman
New York Times
When the leaders of the world’s two most populous nations meet on Friday in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will be pushing to get less from President Xi Jinping of China.

India Is Willing to Snub the Dalai Lama to Please China

Devjyot Ghoshal
Quartz
On March 17, 1959, a 23-year-old Buddhist monk disguised as a soldier fled Tibet, travelling for three weeks across the Himalayas before reaching the border with India.

Chinese Warships Enter East Indian Ocean Amid Maldives Tensions

Reuters Staff
Reuters
Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean this month, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency.

Maldives Crisis Could Stir Trouble between China and India

Mujib Mashal
New York Times
As the Maldives’ autocratic president, Abdulla Yameen, cracks down on opposition to consolidate power ahead of another election, analysts and diplomats warn that the small nation’s troubles could provoke a larger crisis that draws in China and India...

An Indian-Russian Supersonic Missile Could Be a Problem for China

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and Russia, has developed what it calls the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile. The namesake rocket may now be exported globally — a potentially concerning development for the world’s second-...

India Tests Ballistic Missile, Posing New Threat to China

New York Times
India tested a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons on Thursday, paving the way for membership to a small list of countries with access to intercontinental missiles and putting most of China in its reach.

India, China Hold Talks on Long-Running Border Dispute

Associated Press
ABC
India and China on Friday discussed ways to prevent a repeat of a recent face-off between their armed forces at a Himalayan plateau where their borders meet.

The China-India Row That Spells Disaster for Flood Victims

Navin Singh Khadka
BBC
Fear of flooding has been growing in the Indian state of Assam ever since upstream China stopped sharing river data crucial for issuing early warnings.

Depth of Field

11.20.17

Fake Girlfriends, Chengdu Rappers, and a Chow Chow Making Bank

Ye Ming, Yan Cong & more from Yuanjin Photo
Lonely dog owners in Beijing and a rented girlfriend in Fujian; the last Oroqen hunters in Heilongjiang and homegrown hip hop in Chengdu; young Chinese in an Indian tech hub and Hong Kong apartments only slightly larger than coffins—these are some...

Chinese Investors Are Stealthily Pouring Money into India

CNBC
If you go by official Indian government figures, Chinese direct investments into the country this century hit a paltry $1.6 billion in March 2017.

China Warns US to Drop Its Bias after Tillerson’s ‘Blunt’ Message

Sarah Zheng
South China Morning Post
Beijing warned the United States to drop its bias against China after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington wanted to “dramatically deepen” ties with New Delhi to counter China’s influence in Asia.

China and India Water ‘Dispute’ after Border Stand-Off

Navin Singh Khadka
BBC
China and India may have defused a potential border conflict but the stand-off seems to have led to dispute over another contentious issue: water.

The Rise and Rise of China's Xiaomi in India

Abhishek Baxi
Forbes
A couple of years ago in 2015, MIT Technology Review ranked Xiaomi number 2 on their list of 50 Smartest Companies -- a list that also had companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft who were rated far below the Chinese smartphone and smart home...

Leaders of China and India Seek Stable Ties after Border Spat

Iain Marlow and Ting Shi
Bloomberg
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held their first talks since defusing a border stand-off, with both leaders calling for stable ties between the two Asian giants.

Who Blinked in the China-India Military Standoff?

Simon Denyer and Annie Gowen
Washington Post
For weeks, China’s Foreign Ministry had been vehement in its denunciations of India and insistence that New Delhi unconditionally withdraw troops that had trespassed into Chinese territory. Don’t underestimate us, China repeatedly insisted, we are...

India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute

Simon Denyer and Annie Gowen
Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on their border, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-armed...

India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute

Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-...

India, China Agree to Pull Back Troops to Resolve Tense Border Dispute

Washington Post
India and China have withdrawn troops from a disputed Himalayan region on the border with China, foreign ministries from the two countries announced Monday, defusing a tense standoff that had threatened to provoke armed conflict between the nuclear-...

China and India Are Showing Muscle on Their Border

Economist
When the Indian subcontinent bumped into Eurasia 40m years ago, the collision produced the mighty Himalayas. The world’s two most populous nations, India and China, are still colliding across that majestic range.

We Are Human Too, India and China Have to Start Talking and Stop Using Us Soldiers as Cannon Fodder

Ajai Shukla
South China Morning Post
In Autumn 1986, as a young army captain deployed in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own territory, I readied to go to war with China. The provocation: a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) company, about a...

China-India Border Dispute Spills over into Australian University

South China Morning Post
An IT lecturer at the University of Sydney has apologised for using an out-of-date map that showed a region of Tibet as being Indian territory. The image upset some Chinese students after it was used by Khimji Vaghjiani during a course titled “...

The Spark: 7 Sins of India

Xinhua
7 Sins of India

India and China Troops Clash along Himalayan Border

BBC
The PTI news agency said soldiers threw stones, causing minor injuries to both sides, as Chinese troops tried to enter Indian territory near the Pangong lake. 

India and China ’Preparing For Armed Conflict’ If Bhutan Solution Not Found

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Independent
Indian and Chinese military forces are reported to be preparing for the possibility of an armed conflict over a disputed area in the Himalayas should a peaceful solution not be found.

What a Standoff on a Small Himalayan Plateau Says about the Rivalry between the Two Most Populous Nations

Los Angeles Times
In a tense standoff between nuclear-armed nations that threatens to destabilize Asia, both sides are digging in, with one warning of unspecified “countermeasures” and the other saying it won’t be bullied.

Diplomacy to Defuse India, China Border Crisis Slams into a Wall: Sources

Sanjeev Miglani
Reuters
India’s diplomatic efforts to end a seven-week military standoff with China have hit a roadblock, people briefed on the talks said, prompting Chinese state-run media to trumpet rhetoric of “unavoidable countermeasures” on the unmarked border.

China May Conduct ‘Small-Scale Military Operation’ to Remove Indian Troops from Bhutan Border Region

Samuel Osborne
Independent
China could conduct a “small-scale military operation” to expel Indian troops from a contested region in the Himalayas, according to an article published a Chinese state-controlled newspaper.

China ramps up rhetoric in border row with India ahead of key meetings

Catherine Wong
Beijing has doubled down on its tough rhetoric in its Himalayan border row, with official and military mouthpieces insisting China will not back down on territorial sovereignty. 

Amid NSA Ajit Doval’s Visit, Anti-War Sentiments Take Root in China

Hindu
National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval has commenced his visit to China, outside the glare of media, amid public calls by Chinese authorities seeking unilateral withdrawal of Indian troops engaged in a tense standoff with Chinese forces, from...

As India and China Face Off in the Mountains, a New Confrontation Is Growing in the Ocean

Nyshka Chandran
CNBC
India-China ties, already weighed down by a Himalayan border dispute, are set for further pressure amid territorial concerns in the Indian Ocean. Beijing has been expanding its naval presence there, triggering worry from New Delhi.

China Warns India Not to Harbor Illusions in Border Stand-Off

Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina
Reuters
China’s defense ministry on Monday warned India not to harbor any illusions about the Chinese military’s ability to defend its territory, amid a festering border dispute.

India Ready for Talks with China on Border Standoff

Washington Post
India said Thursday it is ready to hold talks with China if both sides pull back their forces to end a standoff along a disputed territory high in the Himalayan mountains. Tensions flared last month in the southernmost part of Tibet in an area also...

CPEC: The Growing Resentment and Resistance among Poor Pakistanis Can Cost China Dearly

Quartz
In Pakistan, there’s no topic hotter than the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar bilateral development project that will officials promised in 2015, “usher in an era of unprecedented progress and prosperity.”

China Is Being ‘Unusually Aggressive’ in Border Row

South China Morning Post
A top Indian diplomat said China is being unusually aggressive in a month-old border dispute with India that shows no sign of easing, media reports said yesterday.

China Ready For ‘War’ With India, Holds Live-Fire Drills Near Border

Tom O'Connor
Newsweek
The ruling Communist Party of China has issued a stern warning to neighboring India, with which it is engaged in a bitter border dispute that has recently seen Chinese live-fire drills and media speculation of extensive Indian military casualties...

India, China Can Handle Border Differences, Senior Indian Official Says

Reuters
India and China can manage the differences that are likely to arise from time to time over their contested border, India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday, commenting on recent tension sparked by Chinese road-building.

US, India and Japan Begin Naval Exercises, as China Looks On

Steve George and Huizhong Wu
CNN
A rising Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean has prompted the largest naval exercise the region has seen in more than two decades. The United States, Japan and India have deployed front-line warships, submarines, and aircraft as part of the tri-...

Modi’s India Beats Xi’s China

Panos Mourdoukoutas
Forbes
India has been on the radar of different international agencies in recent days and has been getting high marks for its reforms and growth prospects—beating China.

Chinese Media Says India Needs to Be Taught a 'Bitter Lesson' over Its Border Dispute

Joseph Hincks
Time
An editorial that ran in China's Global Times Tuesday has ramped up the rhetoric in an ongoing military dispute along a portion of the Sino-Indian border.

Indian Bunker in Sikkim Removed by China: Sources

PTI
China has removed an old bunker of the Indian Army located at the tri-junction of India, China and Bhutan in Sikkim after the Indian side refused to accede to its request.

China and India Border Dispute Raises Fears of New Asian War

Reuters
Reuters
China has accused Indian border guards of crossing into its territory from the state of Sikkim on India's northeastern border with Tibet, the Chinese foreign and defence ministries have said, complicating an already difficult relationship.

China Cautions India, Others Against Any Informal Alliance

PTI
Economic Observer
China cautioned India and other Asian countries against forming informal alliances to counter its increasing assertiveness as they cannot rely on the U.S. in Trump era.

India Boycotts China’s Global Trade Jamboree

Rishi Iyengar
CNN
India’s main objection is the partnership China is developing with Pakistan. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key component of One Belt, One Road -- passes through the disputed region of Kashmir, which both India and Pakistan claim in its...

Sri Lanka Rejects Chinese Request for Submarine Visit: Sources

Shihar Aneez, Ranga Sirilal
Reuters
Sri Lanka has rejected China’s request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month, two senior government officials said on Thursday as the Indian prime minister who worries about growing Chinese activity in a country it has long viewed as...

China Repeats West’s Mistakes in Pakistan

Mihir Sharma
Bloomberg
When President Xi Jinping announced in 2015 that China would pump $46 billion worth of investments into Pakistan, the recipients of his largesse seemed less surprised than one might have expected.

Why India Can’t Afford to Miss out on China’s Belt and Road Plan

K.S. Venkatachalam
South China Morning Post
India-China relations has been plagued by a low level of trust due to unresolved territorial disputes.

China Names Areas in Region Disputed with India to Assert Claims

Reuters
China has issued standardized spellings of the names of six places in a region disputed with India, in what China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday was an assertion of sovereignty.

China-Nepal Exercises Don’t Worry Us: India

Hindu
The enduring ties between Kathmandu and New Delhi are not concerned with the ongoing military exercises between China and Nepal, the External Affairs Ministry said.

Dalai Lama’s Journey Provokes China, and Hints at His Heir

New York Times
It has been a hard journey for the 81-year-old Dalai Lama, perhaps his last over the mountain passes at the edge of China, to a town that has played a fateful role in his life, and in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.

India-China Row Deepens as Dalai Lama Arrives in NE India

Wasbir Hussain
Seattle Times
India said Tuesday that China should not interfere in its internal affairs, as the Dalai Lama began a weeklong visit to India’s remote northeast that Beijing has protested.

Welcome to an Emerging Asia: India and China Stop Feigning Friendship while Russia Plays All Sides

Harsh V Pant
Quartz
After a few timid signs of warming, Sino-Indian relations seem to be headed for the freezer.

Features

12.02.16

How Do You Stand up to China? Ask Mongolia

Sergey Radchenko
The day before the Dalai Lama’s November 18 trip to Mongolia, Beijing issued a “strong demand” to its neighbor to cancel the visit of the “anti-Chinese separatist” or face (unstated) consequences. The Dalai Lama would be making his ninth visit to...

India’s China Policy Off Target, Says Modi’s Mandarin- Speaking ‘Guided Missile’

Debasish Chowdhury
South China Morning Post
Delhi’s go-to guy for talking to Beijing is one of the few Indian leaders who openly advocate closer ties