On Sinoindia ties, China must now walk the talk

In its vision of an ‘Asian century’, India is rarely perceived as an equal

On the face of it, there are many reasons for India and China to put the tensions associated with last year’s military standoff at Doklam behind them and to build a closer relationship that can translate into reality the dream of the 21st century being an “Asian century”. Both countries have much to worry about in terms of the drastic changes that are occurring as the US adopts protectionist measures that are affecting global trade. Despite India not signing on for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has indicated it is willing to work more closely with New Delhi on regional and global issues. In New Delhi, the government would prefer to normalise relations with Beijing in the run-up to the 2019 polls. In such circumstances, it is not surprising to hear China’s ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, proposing concepts such as trilateral cooperation between China, India and Pakistan in New Delhi. The envoy noted that China and India could benefit more from a closer alignment on international issues since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “neighbourhood first” policy closely mirrors President Xi Jinping’s policies.

Scratch a little deeper, however, and it becomes evident that much more work will have to be done to achieve such a vision. The traditional Chinese vision of an “Asian century” still puts the country at the top. In such a vision, India is rarely perceived as an equal. Then there are other irritants, including China’s blocks on the designation of Pakistan-based terrorists such as Masood Azhar at the UN Security Council and Beijing’s opposition to New Delhi’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

China has shown it can work more closely with India on terrorism — such as the issue of blacklisting Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force — but for the forseeable future, Pakistan will continue to be the elephant in the room as far as bilateral ties are concerned. Clearly, China will have to walk the talk if this is to be a partnership of equals.