Navigating China’s imperatives

This edited volume by Ashok Kantha, former ambassador to China, is an attempt to discuss how Chinese foreign and domestic policy under Xi Jinping have the potential to impact India.

- GUNJAN SINGH

Despite the bonhomie displayed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Sino-Indian relations are riddled with mistrust and unease. The thaw that began in October 2024 at the Kazan Brics summit after the violent Galwan clashes of 2020, only calls for more caution in India’s engagement with China. The disputed border issue, which has seen no resolution even after multiple rounds of talks, highlights the need for a more nuanced understanding of China. Other global developments — the Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asian conflict and the trade war with the US — add to the challenges in this bilateral relationship.

A detailed introduction by Mr Kantha attempts to paint an overall picture of China and its future direction. As he argues, “It has been observed that Xi’s proactive foreign policy in Asia offers a deal: China will deliver trade, investment and other economic goods, and progressively act as a net security provider to those partners who accommodate, or at least do not challenge, its core interests.” In his essay, Arvind Gupta adds the perspective that, “Although Chinese leaders claim that they are not interested in exporting the Chinese system or model of development to any country, the fact remains that China is building its own sphere of influence.”