Cooperative pas de deux?

Prospects for dancing with the dragon are brighter with a narrower power differential

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At a time when the global economic order is being disrupted, India must nurture relationships with all the rising powers in an increasingly multi-polar world. Its relations with China – the second largest economy in the world – are passing through a testy phase. India has so far engaged in a delicate balancing act of aligning with the US while bolstering strategic relationships with Russia and other middle powers who punch above their weight in global affairs. As the dynamics between the US, Russia, and China are in flux, there is a warrant for India to create strategic space for an entente cordiale with the dragon. India's policy choices in this regard are no doubt complicated by the continuing face-off on the Sino-Indian border since April 2020. It is not business as usual for the bilateral relationship unless there is peace and tranquillity on the border. China's foreign minister Wang Yi recently stated that a ballet between the elephant and dragon is the only "right choice" for bilateral relations, adding that "we should never allow bilateral rela