‘INDIACHINA RELATIONSHIP NOT HINGED ON ONE ISSUE’

Indian and Chinese officials have the tricky task of getting bilateral ties back on track in the coming months following New Delhi’s boycott of the twoday summit on China’s new foreign policy thrust, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Seemingly hinged on economics and connectivity, the BRI has plenty of problems ahead. The boycott wouldn’t have come as a shock to Beijing. But it added to the count of problems in Sino-India ties. India had expressed its “sovereignty” concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through PoK. The boycott could seem like a snub not only to China but against its “hexin” or core, President Xi Jinping. But the bilateral ties aren’t a “single” issue relation — both countries realise.

For one, the Chinese government’s reaction to India skipping the summit has been broadly balanced — even though foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying wanted her Indian counterpart Gopal Bagley to explain what he meant by “meaningful dialogue”. India too has made it clear that it is not against BRI, except the route that the CPEC takes, but wants the plans to follow the principles of transparency for one.

Former Indian envoy to China, AK Kantha told Chinese media about India’s view of the BRI in 2015. “We are very closely following these important initiatives and are aware the Chinese government has attached high importance to them. However, some details have not been spelled out. At the same time, we understand they are an important aspect of China’s connectivity agenda and neighbourhood strategy. India has its own plans of developing connectivity with countries of the region, including China. Our approach is wherever we have mutual interests, we must work together. Thus, we are working on Bangladesh, China India Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).”