UNDERSTANDING THE DELHI-BEIJING DYNAMIC
It is now a cliche to suggest that the India-China relationship has both a cooperative element and a competitive element. The former is symbolised by high-level exchanges and trade; the latter by the border dispute, China’s support to Pakistan and strategic rivalry. The competitive element was manifested yet again this week as China, unilaterally, sought to change the facts on the ground across the border with its aggression.
This week, we recommend the Routledge Handbook of China-India Relations, edited by scholars Kanti Bajpai, Selina Ho, and Manjari Chatterjee Miller. The book encompasses the historical context, people-to-people ties, the strategic view in both countries about each other, core conflicts, the issue of Tibet, the economic dynamic, the military balance, and the growing maritime rivalry. It also examines the role of other countries in influencing the relationship, the India-China interface in major regions of the world, and how both countries perceive global governance regimes. It is clear that the pandemic will not necessarily resolve, and may even deepen, the tensions between the two nations. The handbook provides a useful primer to understand the present.
Routledge Handbook of China–India Relations
Author: Kanti Bajpai, Selina Ho, Manjari Chatterjee Miller
Year: 2020