Issue Brief IV: The Dragon and the Elephant: Navigating the Fragile Tango of Rivalry and Rapprochement by Navya Syam
- Chennai Centre for China Studies
- Apr 17
- 2 min read
Image Courtesy: Zee Business
Issue Brief: 4/2025
C3S launched its Issue Brief initiative. An issue brief is a summary of the knowledge surrounding an issue or a problem. It summarizes the issue by giving clear, concise, and complete information describing all facets of a particular issue including a detailed illustration in the form of images, data, and facts. It also includes recommendations for action and predictions on the future course of an issue.
Abstract:
India and China, two of Asia's oldest civilizations and largest economies, have had a complicated and often tumultuous relationship over the past seventy-five years. Characterized by moments of both diplomatic cordiality and strategic competition, their bilateral relationships have been marked by a trajectory of détente interrupted by dramatic escalations, especially along their disputed Himalayan frontier. This article charts the trajectory of India-China relations from the optimistic early days of post-independence diplomacy in the 1950s to the present day's post-Galwan age of distrustful strategy, with special emphasis on turn-of-the-decade flashpoints, peace overtures, and the changes in the geopolitical equations. Amid boundary disputes, aggressive military postures, and divergent world vision, the two countries have continued to be economically interdependent, implying a paradoxically competitive and cooperative relationship. Recent diplomatic efforts, such as the October 2024 disengagement agreement and early 2025 top-level visits, suggest a possible easing, though in the broader context of emerging global power shifts. The re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the revival of his administration's tariff war—such as hefty taxes on Chinese (245%) and Indian (26%) imports, have imposed mutual economic pressures on both sides. This fleeting instant of overlap has triggered pragmatic reevaluations as hinted by the exchange of messages by Heads of States of both sides on 1st April, 2025.
Key Words - India & China, Border disputes, Economic Interdependence, Geopolitical rivalry, detente - escalation loop
Read the full Issue Brief at this link:
Comments