Modi needs sound economy to ease border tensions

Due to its previous nationwide coronavirus lockdown, India’s economy is now experiencing serious difficulties, with S&P Global Ratings forecasting a 5 percent contraction in the current fiscal year. We hope the Modi government can resolutely fight the pandemic and lift its economy out of the current situation.

Otherwise, the country’s nationalist sentiment derived from prevailing poverty and other social issues will only put more pressure on the development of China-India relations.

To a certain extent, the current outburst of nationalist sentiment in India is a public outpouring of frustration toward the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic downturn.

And if the Indian government could bring its economy on the right track to recovery, such nationalist sentiment may not be so violent during any specific incident in the future.

For years, China-India relations have been slowly moving forward, with the two countries’ longdisputed border issue and other problems.

But no disputes could obscure the fact that there is still huge potential for economic and trade cooperation between the world’s two largest developing countries.

Therefore, despite recent border tensions, we sincerely hope that the Indian economy will be able to achieve steady growth in the future.

Moreover, a positive relationship between China and India is not just paramount to Asia but is also crucial to the global economy, which is why Monday’s border clash has captured the world’s attention. Even the US is “closely monitoring the situation,” according to a US State Department statement.

However, it should be noted that neither China nor India needs a third party, especially the US, to intervene in their border issue at such a sensitive time.

As the US-China rivalry on multiple fronts is driving the two countries toward a new Cold War, the extent of the US-China decoupling in trade, investment and financial market exchanges appears to be much greater than it was during the trade war. At this juncture, the US needs to avoid opening up a new front in its standoff with China over the China-India border issue.

The border dispute involves a country’s territorial sovereignty, and no other countries are qualified to point fingers at the issue. If the US were to intervene in the China-India dispute, it would be a very grim signal for US-China trade relations, which would also hinder future economic and trade development between China and India.