Healthcare collaboration could be first step toward India joining BRI

China and India can step up cooperation in the healthcare sector, using it as a starting point to explore further cooperative opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Though the time may not yet be right for India to join the BRI and many problems still exist between it and China, the two countries will eventually cross that bridge as mutual trust is built.

It is possible that China and India can begin with healthcare cooperation. Certain areas of the Indian healthcare system, particularly its pharmaceutical industries, are currently ahead of China. China needs India’s generic drugs and active ingredients for antibiotics.

India has a significant number of medical staff overseas and students studying medicine in the US. Moreover, the country has an interest in traditional Chinese medicine. Thousands of Indian students have studied in Chinese medical schools.

Medical tourism in India has been booming, which is worth China’s consideration. There is a lot the two countries can learn from one another, particularly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Many are concerned India will not survive the pandemic without seeing a massive outbreak, but we should also recognize the potential of the country. Pharmaceutical companies in many countries including India and China have been developing vaccines for the coronavirus. China will surely lend a helping hand if it is the first to develop an effective vaccine, and will assist in manufacturing it for India.

Now, China and India should help one other defeat the common enemy – the coronavirus. From there, the two countries can work together to build a community with a shared destiny under the BRI.

India is currently unwilling to join the BRI, mainly due to geopolitical issues. Some Indian people believe there will eventually be Chinese hegemony considering the country’s strength. The BRI will challenge India’s influence and presence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean by surrounding it on all sides through economic corridors and belts.

Aside from the arguments of China expansionism, some Indians have also advocated that the China-proposed BRI projects are in competition with India’s Project Mausam, a regional initiative to revitalize India’s ancient maritime routes and cultural links with its neighbors.

Such notions have pushed India away from the BRI and related regional cooperation. For instance, India is reluctant to link the cross-border ChinaNepal railway, which was constructed under the BRI in 2019, with the existing railway between India and Nepal. It could even be taken as a threat, as linking the railways could potentially help China rapidly transport military forces.

Nepal can serve as a bridge between China and India, said the Nepali prime minister, in a bid to maintain close ties with both neighbors. Additionally, the landlocked country is in need of infrastructure to boost its economy. If China and India can cooperate, it will bring benefits for the entire region. Products from India and Nepal could be transported to China in a shorter period of time, and local tourism could be stimulated.

The Cold War mindset of some Indians and mutual trust issues between China and India are the hurdles the two countries should overcome first. To avoid politicizing cooperation and triggering negative sentiment, China and India could begin cooperation in apolitical fields such as healthcare and education, which could help bring the two countries together.

The author is head of the Institute for South and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Municipal Center for International Studies. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn