On Aug.17 China’s Global Times wrote in an editorial, “Improving China-India Relationship Serves Fundamental Interests of Both Countries,” evaluates Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s three-day trip over Aug. 18-20 to India, to work out the agenda for a Xi-Modi summit scheduled for the sidelines of the Aug. 29-Sept. 1 Shanghai Cooperatoin Organization summit in Tianjin, China.
Global Times evaluates Wang’s trip from two standpoints: First, it will accomplish the tasks it is set out to accomplish, including resolving the China-India border dispute. Second, it will establish the basis for their collaboration, which Wang Yi has called the “dance of the Elephant and the Dragon,” which because of the two countries’ combined population of 2.8 billion people, and their immense growing economies, could aid the acceleration of a new world economic order, based on the mutual, cooperative development of the Global Majority.
The Global Times asserts, “The visit reflects proactive engagement at a high political level and a rational choice by both sides to pursue shared interests amid a complex global environment.
“Recent developments point to a pragmatic reset. Authorities are expediting visa facilitation; talks on resuming direct flights are reportedly underway; the two sides are discussing resuming border trade of domestic goods; multiple friction points along the Line of Actual Control have seen disengagement with reinforced buffer arrangements.…
Global Times notes, “Peace and tranquility along the [China-India] border serve as a stabilizing force for bilateral ties. Before a final settlement is reached, keeping the situation within a controllable range—avoiding misjudgment and spillover—is essential to overall stability….”
Further, “Experience shows that once verifiable de-escalation is achieved on the ground, opportunities emerge in customs facilitation, flight resumption, pilot openings at border ports and even supply-chain coordination—prompting a shift from caution to implementation. Aligning technical progress in boundary talks with greater political trust and more substantial economic cooperation is, therefore, both sound policy design and a practical pathway toward a mature, stable relationship.
“Together, China and India account for roughly 2.8 billion people. Expanding cooperation in lower-sensitivity areas of supply chains,” is advantageous.
This leads to higher achievements: “From a broader perspective, repairing and upgrading China-India relations has significance that goes well beyond the bilateral track. For Asia, more stable China-India ties help buffer external shocks, improve the effectiveness of multilateral institutions, and strengthen the region’s ability to shape global governance. A genuine Asian renaissance requires the two largest emerging economies to provide public goods for regional peace and development jointly.”
Therefore, if China and India can “deepen mutual trust, [and] strengthen public support through practical cooperation … China-India relations … [can] become both an anchor and a driver for Asia’s peace, stability and prosperity.”
