Jagannath Panda
Reversing the trend that India and China ties have witnessed in the last half-decade, the coming year is unusually optimistic. For the first time in recent history, bilateral hostilities have taken a backseat, even if straightforward cooperation and trust are still missing. Nonetheless, despite the upward outlook, China’s uneven trajectory with India during the Xi Jinping era continues to warrant a cautious reading of current events. Add to the mix a resurgent Donald Trump, and the China-India thaw looks even more capricious.
Around mid-December, India and China concluded the 23rd meeting of Special Representatives for the China-India Boundary Question in Beijing. The representatives – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval – primarily embraced the need to advance “effective border management” for maintaining “peace and tranquility on the border.” Despite the phrasing, China watchers know that the latter remains a clichéd phrase used regularly in such briefings. Yet, the expansion of bilateral relations was tied to the success of future meetings between the representatives, which the latest talks highlighted.
A couple of months earlier in October, the two sides had also reached a landmark disengagement pact on patrolling border areas in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto border, which itself is contested.
At the outset, such a dual promise seems in tune with the flurry of national and international headlines marking the start of a new chapter for India and China in resolving their disputes. However, on closer examination, the bonhomie seems burdened by multiple factors, most notably their leadership.
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