What the border pact means for India and China
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India and China have announced that they have reached an agreement on patrolling their common border after more than four years of tension. Can this boost trade and investment flow between the two economic powers? Mint explains: It is a first step towards rebuilding their relationship which took a beating following the border clash at Galwan in June 2020.
Almost all forms of bilateral engagement came to a halt after the clashes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The agreement paved the way for a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Brics Summit in Russia on Wednesday—their first since 2020. Thawing of the relationship may ease anti-China sentiment among Indians—a Pew Research Centre survey says 67% of Indians have an unfavourable view of China.
There are multiple friction points. The 3,379 km border is not clearly demarcated, and this causes periodic flare-ups—like the one at Galwan in Ladakh. Trade is massively skewed in China’s favour.
This causes angst as India exports to China far less than what it imports. Also read | India to take on China on GI listings by tapping goods district-wise More important are geopolitical factors. China’s ‘all weather’ relationship with Pakistan makes India uncomfortable.
China, for its part, views India’s growing proximity with the US with suspicion. Not to mention its participation in the Quad grouping along with the US, Australia and Japan, which it perceives as an anti-China alliance. Through it all, trade between India and China continued to grow.
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