RECONSIDERING THE CHINA OPTION

For India, engagement with China, not confrontation with it, is the better way of dealing with, argues AMIT GUPTA

- AMIT GUPTA

Indian foreign and defence policy officials are obsessed about China and the two favorite themes they like to bring up are 1962 and Doklam. The first event is seen as an act of Chinese perfidy—and there is some truth to that—while the second is incorrectly viewed as a great Indian victory. Both events, however, act as anchors to hamper the development of a modern relationship with China. Yet, going by the trends in the international system, China will be a superpower— and in the economic context it already is—so India needs to have a more nuanced and open policy to China that allows New Delhi to better navigate the complexities of a globalised world order. Further, India has not been able to forge a meaningful strategic relationship with the United States which could have effectively counterbalanced China. So perhaps it is time to reconsider the China relationship?

The Rise of China and the Indian response

Not only has China’s rise been phenomenal but it has been grossly underestimated in India. The Chinese now are the largest trading partners of chunks of the European Union, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Chile, as well as Australia and New Zealand. China’s economic influence continue to grow as it buys up companies in Europe and Latin America while investing heavily in Africa. Then there is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which the Chinese intend to inject $1 trillion into the Eurasian economy to build the needed infrastructure. Chinese scholars estimate that once the overall growth that will follow the development of BRI infrastructure is taking into consideration, it will be a $8 trillion project.